Monster High: Primal Hearts
by DRAGONDAVE45
Summary: After tragedy strikes, a heartbroken Duncan needs to heal. His mother Margaret moves them to New Salem and tranfers him to a new school...Monster High! Meanwhile Kenny, now Duncan's foster brother, attends New Salem High. Secrets, Adventure, and Romance. I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. I will note credit where do, as well as my OC's as we go along.
1. Prologue: Battle Scars

I do NOT own Firebreather or Monster High. This story is written for fun, not profit.

 ** _Monster High: Primal Hearts_**

Firebreather+Monster High

Prologue: Battle Scars

After things had settled down after the Homecoming kaiju attack last fall, the rest of the school year had actually been pretty good for Kenny; what with Duncan and his girlfriend Jenna hanging out with him and Isabel, and the school bullies backing off thanks to Duncan. Isabel had even gone out on a few dates with him eventually, leading to the mutual decision that they were better as friends, as they had been since they were little.

Home alone for weeks yet again during summer vacation, while his father was away 'on business', Ken Rogers awoke with a start from the pounding on his door.

"Kenny?!" KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK! "Kenny, are you there?!"

'Mrs. Rosenblatt? Why is Duncan's mom pounding on my door?' he thought to himself, as he looked at his watch; 4:33 am. He doesn't wake up this early even during the school year!

"Yeah, I'm trying to sleep, Mrs. Rosenblatt. Duncan isn't here", he called out.

"I know, Kenny, but it's important! Can you please come to the door?"

"OK, give me a minute". He yawned as he pulled on a t-shirt, and rubbed his eyes as he walked to the door of the trailer. When he opened it he was immediately pulled into a hug from his best friend's mom.

"Thank goodness you're alright! We were so worried about you all alone out here!"

"What the heck is going on?!" Kenny asked. It was then that he realized that Mrs. Rosenblatt was not alone. His high school gym coach was with her, wearing what looked like a military uniform of some kind. He removed his hat and addressed Kenny in a somber tone.

"Son, my real name is Col. Bradley Barnes of MEGTAF. It is my sad duty to inform you that your father; Gunnery-Sargeant Dennis Rogers, was killed in action last night." Kenny's heart sank. "He was one of the finest men I ever had the honor to serve with. He died a hero".

Kenny would have fallen, if Mrs. Rosenblatt wasn't already hugging him. She gently guided him to a nearby lawn chair. Tears welled up in his eyes as he sat down. 'My Dad? A hero?' "What happened?" he asked as he started sobbing.

"Your father had been with MEGTAF special-ops for years. He announced his resignation and retirement last night and was on his way home to you after a particularly tough mission; when several rogue kaiju suddenly attacked the town. He informed our base, then; unarmed, out-of-uniform, and with no regard for his own safety, he assisted with the rescue and evacuation of hundreds of civilians. He was killed when the building he had just cleared collapsed before he could exit."

Kenny cried uncontrollably. He lost his mom to cancer when he was only 10 years old, and now his dad was gone, too? He used to tell himself and his friends that he thought his dad was a 'secret agent' to make himself feel better about all the time his dad was away….and now to find out it was closer to the truth than he thought!

Wait! Kaiju attack?! He turned towards Mrs. Rosenblatt. "Where's Duncan?"

Duncan sat staring at the floor. The MEGTAF base was mostly a shambles. Dr. Pytel had just finished treating his injuries: few cuts and bruises…nothing too serious. Well, physically, anyway.

Jenna was gone. She had died in his arms. And afterward…he had crossed a line he had sworn never to cross. It was all his fault. So much death and destruction, all because of the simple fact of his own existence…. because he was born.

Most of MEGTAF's troops were decimated, the town half destroyed, nearly a hundred civilians dead, many more injured and/or homeless. With his and Belloc's help, the rogue kaijus had been beaten back, but that didn't matter to those that were lost.

He didn't even notice the door open and close. "Duncan?"

"Kenny!" Duncan stood and embraced his friend, "Dude, it is so good to see you! I was afraid that you might be dead, too!"

" 'Dead, too'? Duncan, who….? Isabel?!"

"Relax, Kenny. She left town for the weekend with her parents, remember?"

"Then who….?"

Wincing, Duncan's voice broke as he answered softly, "Jenna."

"Aw man, Bro, I am so sorry…."

"It's all my fault! Jenna! Your dad! All those people! If it weren't for me, they would all still be alive!"

"NO IT'S NOT!" Kenny exclaimed as he grabbed Duncan's shoulders. "And if it weren't for you and your dad, a lot MORE people would be dead, too!"

Duncan calmed somewhat. "Maybe."

They sat together in silence then, brothers of battle, loss and pain.

Margaret Rosenblatt and Col. Barnes watched thru the window as the boys shared their pain, loss and strength.

Barnes spoke first. "Rogers has no other living family. And I don't think the foster system will be very good for a kid like him".

"Then he'll come with Duncan and me. **We** will be his new family", Margaret said. She always liked Kenny, he was a good kid and had been a good friend to her son. "I need to take them away from here, and Duncan needs time to heal. He's in so much pain and heartache right now".

"I agree", a deep, primal voice rumbled from behind them.

They turned to look out through the wrecked wall behind them, and into the large, draconian face of Belloc; the King of the Kaiju.

" **Really** , Belloc?!" she said, an edge in her voice. "I'm surprised to hear that from YOU! I thought you'd be roaring your pride in Duncan's 'accomplishment' to the heavens for all the world to hear!"

"I AM proud of him for doing what NEEDED to be done! But my pride aside, I **do** love our son . Whether you choose to believe it or not, I am as distressed as you are to see Duncan in so much pain."

Margaret's face softened. She believed him. She still had her….issues with Belloc, but she still loved him.

Belloc then turned to, "Barnes! The situation has changed. My remaining in the 'custody' of MEGTAF is no longer an option! You now realize I only did it to remain close to Duncan and protect him, and that I could have chosen to leave at ANY time. I am leaving to lead the kaiju loyal to me as their King, and hunt done the rest of these rogues that threaten the peace!" Barnes glared at Belloc for a few moments, then swallowed his pride and nodded in agreement.

"I'm taking Duncan far from here, to start over. The memories of this place will haunt him if we stay," Margaret said thoughtfully.

Belloc growled in agreement. "He needs a place where he can truly be himself and be accepted completely, as well as continue to learn and improve his powers and abilities in safety".

"I think I know just the place", she said. "I was against it before in the hopes of giving Duncan a normal human life. But now, with everything that's happened, it seems to be the best option."

Belloc rumbled softly, "You mean….?"

"Yes".

"What? What place are you two talking about?" Barnes demanded.

"Your superiors at MEGTAF aren't going to like it, but they're going to be too busy rebuilding to object. And besides," she grinned, "my contract with them still puts ME ultimately in charge of my son."


	2. Chapter 1

I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. This story is just for fun.

On with the Story!

Chapter 1: Welcome to Monster High

Frankie was excited to be starting the new school year back at Monster High. She had spent the summer splitting her time between helping her parents in the lab and clinic, and hanging out with her ghoulfriends. But she was anxious to see her friends that "went home" for the summer come back! Her bolts were sparking with excitement!

She arrived at school to see several of her friends already sitting by the fountain in the courtyard.

"Hey, Ghouls!", she called cheerfully.

"Frankie! Hey!", Draculaura squealed with delight, as she stepped away from her boyfriend, Clawd Wolf, to greet her. Lagoona, Robecca, and Ghoulia all smiled and greeted her as well, just as Cleo De Nile arrived with her boyfriend Deuse Gorgon by her side. Deuse fist-bumped Clawd, while the ghouls speculated on the new school year. Abby walked up, looking a little depressed. "Mornink, Ghouls".

"Abby, what's wrong?" Draculaura asked as the others joined in her concern.

"Abby is missink annoyink Hot-Head", the yeti said in her Russian accent.

The Ghouls all smiled, fully aware that the yeti was sweet on Heath Burns, the fire elemental, inspite of his many quirks; and that Heath was just as sweet on the Russian snow monster.

"No worries, Mate," Lagoona said. "Heath will be back after mid-terms. Hopefully studying at Volcano Academy for a semester will help him get better control of his powers. I've lost count of all his mishaps."

"Eh, just part of Hot-Head charm", Abby said with a small smile, eliciting a giggle from her friends.

Spectra Vondergeist floated over to them. "Breaking news, everyone! My first big scoop of the year! Just posted to my blog: a Normie woman came to see Headmistress Bloodgood in her office last week!"

"You must be joking, Spectra!" Cleo huffed, cutting through the stunned silence. "Why would a normie come here?"

"No one knows, Cleo. Jane Boolittle was watching from the vents. She definitely saw a normie woman enter Bloodgood's office, and then later saw Bloodgood escort her from her office to the front door of the school, assuring her that 'everything will be fine'."

They were all about to speculate further, when Frankie noticed one of her friends was missing. "Hey, Clawd? Where's Clawdeen?"

"The creepateria. You know her, she's just gotta have her double-mocha coffinccino latte!" Clawd laughed.

Draculaura giggled. "She'll be here soon, Frankie, don't worry. Besides, you know how cranky she gets without her chocolate-caffeine!"

"Tell me about it", Clawd grumped, rolling his eyes, knowing better than most how his sister can get.

"Wait a minute, ghouls", Robecca said. "Who do you think this guy on the motorbike is? I don't recognize him."

The ghouls and guys all turned to look.

xxXXxx

Duncan pulled onto the grounds of Monster High on his motorcycle. He wasn't sure he was ready to go to school again so soon after…what happened. But his mom insisted he try. Too bad his best friend/foster brother couldn't go with him. Being a 'normie', Kenny had to attend the 'normie' high school. The last kaiju battle had further evolved Duncan's appearance enough that he could no longer pass as human even in his relaxed normal state; hence Monster High.

He saw several students at the fountain in the school courtyard, and he pulled to a stop. "Excuse me? Can you point me toward the student parking lot, please?" A boy with bright green snakes for hair and wearing red-rimmed dark sunglasses answered, "Sure, Dude. Just drive 'round back of the school. You can't miss it".

He called out, "thanks!" and waved as he zoomed away.

Duncan found an empty space to park his bike and removed his helmet, hanging it with its mate on the sissy-bar. As he headed toward the rear entrance of the school, he passed a few other students who were just hanging out until the first bell. He had known about the Monster culture existing parallel to that of normal humans for some time, but he was still amazed at how similar the two sides really were beneath the surface. And yet this town of New Salem, while shared by both monsters and 'normies', was still divided.

As he stepped inside, he removed his sunglasses to slide them into his coat pocket…. and collided with a ghoul coming from his right. She yelped in surprise at the impact. On pure reflex, he caught her as she fell with his right arm, saving her just in time from painfully hitting the floor; and deftly caught her coffee cup with his left hand without spilling a drop!

"Are you ok? I'm so sorry about that", he started, as she looked up at him. He froze as their eyes met. She was gorgeous; deep amber-gold eyes with lavender eye shadow, long luscious chocolate colored hair, caramel fur/complexion, and full, red lips barely concealing her fangs…..

She was about to make a snide remark in response; when she looked up at him after the initial shock of the collision to find herself staring into the most shockingly green eyes ever, with vertical slit pupils. He was very handsome, too. Spiky golden-blonde hair w red tips and highlights, desert-red scaly skin, and abbreviated upper and lower double-fangs. She smiled after her initial shock and assessment. "I'm ok, and I'm the one who should apologise. I shoulda been watchin' where I was going". She then noticed they were still in the position of him catching her. "Um, do you think we can stand up now, Handsome?" she said with a smirk.

"Wha..?Oh! Right! S-sorry!", he stammered, as he pulled them up into an upright position. "I'm Duncan. Duncan Rosenblatt".

"Clawdeen Wolf", she said with a smile, shaking his hand. "New student, Duncan?"

"Yeah", he said rubbing the back of his head as he handed her coffee back to her, "and I guess I need to see the Headmistress first thing. Can you tell me where her office is?"

"I'll do you one better: I'll walk you there myself," she said with a smile. "Right this way".

As they walked and talked, they each took in the full view of each other. She noted that Duncan was easily as tall as her brother, Clawd, with a scrumptious lean-yet-muscular build. He wore velcro-strap sandals on his clawed feet, black cargo pants, a green t-shirt with a tribal-style graphic of a dragon's head on it, a red scale-textured leather jacket, topped off with his long, black biker overcoat. Strangely, there seemed to be slits on each side of the back of both the jacket and coat. He removed the coat and slung it over his shoulder as he checked her out.

She definitely had style! Her hourglass figure and generous curves were perfectly accentuated by her outfit; black&purple high-heeled knee-boots, purple ruffled mini-skirt, pink leopard-print tank top, black leather waist-coat with white faux fur collar, a black choker trimmed with gold studs around her neck and a matching belt around her waist. Even the small gold hoop earrings beautifully set off her wolf ears poking through her hair.

"Here we are, Duncan", she pointed to the door as they arrived. "I gotta go catch up with my ghouls before class starts. I hope you'll like it here at Monster High."

"I'm sure I will", he said. Then without thinking, "Could I maybe see you later, Clawdeen?"

Caught by surprise, she blushed before answering. "You better", she said, smiling and giving him a wink as she turned to walk down the hall. Duncan watched the alluring sway of her hips and shapely ass as she walked away, then vigorously shook his head, as if to clear it. What was he thinking?! He has enough heartache already! Why set himself up for more?! After Jenna died…his heart clenched and sank as he knocked on the office door. "Enter", a strong female voice called through the door.

As he entered the office, he was caught off-guard when a large indigo horse snorted at him before trotting over to the desk. "Ah, welcome, Mr. Rosenblatt." The deep feminine voice came from the head sitting on the desk, as her tall body, dressed in purple riding clothes, paced behind the desk. "I'm Headmistress Bloodgood".

"Uh, hi", he said, taken aback a bit by her appearance. "Please call me Duncan".

"Very well, Duncan. Please be seated", she said as her body placed her head onto her shoulders while he sat down.

"Your mother has told me everything. I'm very sorry for your loss", Bloodgood said sympathetically. Duncan nodded quietly in thanks.

"I've known your mother for quite some time, and admire her greatly, and your father as well. And I'm proud to say that they support my ultimate goal with Monster High: peaceful coexistence of monsters and normies. In a way, **you** are living proof that it **is** possible; the love-child of a human and a kaiju."

Duncan growled softly. He didn't want to be some kind of symbol, not even for a cause he could believe in. She seemed to sense his misgivings. "Don't worry. As I said, your mother explained everything, and you can count on my discretion".

"Mine, as well", said a younger female voice off to the side. Duncan turned in surprise, instinctively readying a fireball in his throat. He hadn't sensed her before she spoke. She was an attractive girl with golden scales tinted slightly green where his were red-orange, long straight green hair in an Asian style with a small bun pinned up by what appeared to be two sticks, and a great figure under her purple Asian short dress. She also had a long tail tipped with a plume of emerald fur, and her reptilian eyes were very similar to his own.

"This is Jinafire Long, Duncan. She will be your guide and student confidant as you learn to find your way around the school. Your locker is near hers and your class schedules match to make things easy for you both. She is also the only other monster in the school who knows everything about you. When, how, or if you choose to reveal more about yourself to others is entirely up to you. After all, you are in a somewhat uniquely difficult position".

"How so?", Duncan asked a bit suspiciously.

"Being half-normie will be difficult enough for you, should you choose to reveal it," Bloodgood's face fell slightly. "But the sad truth is that most monsters also fear the kaiju almost as much as normies do; because of their size and power."

"However, the fire-breathing kaiju and the dragons have a common ancestor," Jinafire said in her charming Chinese accent, "In a way, you and I are distantly related, Duncan. Others will likely assume you to be a dragon, like me."

"An impression that we will allow to continue for as long as you see fit, Duncan", Bloodgood stated.

Duncan was relieved to hear this from both of them. It was a sound plan. The last thing he wanted was for his classmates to be afraid of him, especially Clawdeen….Wait! What?! Bad Duncan!

"Thank you both. I really appreciate that."

"Just one more thing, Duncan", the Headmistress said cautiously. "Thanks to a rather…. unique crystal your mother brought with her when we met last week, I have also spoken with your father….."

"WHAT?! BELLOC?!", he practically shouted in surprise, then slumped and sighed with exasperation, "What did he want?"

"He asked me to encourage you to join our school athletic teams to help you hone your abilities. However, my position is that the choice entirely yours".

Duncan chuckled softly. "Yeah, that's my dad…..obsessed with making me stronger".

"Well, the first bell will ring in about ten minutes. You and Jinafire should get going . Perhaps meet some of your fellow students before class begins?"

"Sounds good to me. Thanks again", he said as he stood and turned to leave.

"Not at all. And, Duncan?"

He turned to look back.

"Welcome to Monster High!" Headmistress Bloodgood said enthusiastically with a smile.

xxXXxx

Clawdeen absently sipped her coffee as she walked down the hall. She could not stop thinking about the new boy that she had just—literally—run into! He was kind, funny, strong and very good looking. And the way he caught her before she hit the floor? Very impressive! And his eyes…..so green, deep, and soulful, and deep down….pain? Her heart hadn't stopped fluttering since he asked if he would see her again! "Come on, Ghoul! He's just a new guy in school! Get it together! Snap out of it!" Yet her mind kept drifting back to Duncan. She nearly crashed into someone else.

"Hey! Watch it, fur-ball!" a snarky, entitled female voice exclaimed. Clawdeen didn't even see who spoke to her. She just said "sorry" and continued on her way to find her friends without even stopping, and no sarcastic retort! A very shocked Amanita Nightshade had seen that look on many ghouls before, but NEVER Clawdeen Wolf! If there was a new guy in school that could turn the head of the most fiercely independent she-wolf in school, then it warranted investigation…..perhaps even steal him for herself! The plant-ghoul grinned as she began to scheme.

When Clawdeen found her friends out by the fountain, they had already been joined by Lagoona's boyfriend, Gil, as well as Skelita and Venus.

Frankie called out,"Hi, Clawdeen!", but she didn't answer, just a smile and dreamy look on her face. "Clawdeen?" Frankie prodded, a bit concerned.

"Hey, Ghouls", she replied dreamily.

A few moments of confusion from the guys and ghouls, and….3….2.…1...

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!", Draculaura squealed. "OH….MY….GHOUL! Clawdeen! You totally just met a clawsome guy, didn't you?!" She was practically jumping up & down with excitement for her Beast Friend Forever!

"Huh? What?!", Clawdeen stammered, finally snapped back to reality.

"Sooooo? Where is he? What's his name? Where's he from? What kind of monster is he? How did you meet? Come on, give us all the deets, Ghoulfriend!", Draculaura asked rapid-fire, while all the ghouls smirked and/or nodded expectantly while crowding closer and Spectra got her laptop ready to hand.

Clawdeen threw her hands up in front of her. "Whoa! Whoa! It's nothin' like that!"

The Ghouls all gave her deadpan looks. Cleo scoffed, "Oh, for Ra's sake, Clawdeen! Just spill already!"

"Ok! Okay.", she gave in…..a little. She took a deep breath and let it out. "I **_did_** meet a new student, and I **_did_** help him find Bloodgood's office, and yes he **_is_** super-cute".

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! THIS IS SO FANG-TASTIC!", Draculaura exclaimed, suddenly hugging her friend. "I am SO HAPPY for you, Clawdeen!"

"Easy there, Draculaura. And freeze those ghostly fingers of yours, Spectra!", Clawdeen growled when she saw the 'Ghostly Gossip' begin to type. "It's no biggie and **_not_** what you think….."

"Aieeeeouuh", Ghoulia groaned with a smirk.

"Same here, Ghoulia! Methinks my sister doth protest too much!", Clawd laughed, only to have Clawdeen growl and glare daggers at him.

"Greetings, Ghouls", a familiar voice came up from behind Clawdeen, near the entrance of the school.

Frankie happily answered, "Hey, Jinafire! Who's that with you?"

"I'd like you all to meet my cousin…."

Clawdeen cringed a little as she slowly turned, thinking to herself, 'please don't tell me it's….'

"...Duncan Rosenblatt. He just enrolled this year".

xxXXxx

(5 minutes ago)

Duncan closed his new locker and spun the lock-dial after hanging up his long coat and grabbing his Mad Science text book. He found it extremely cool the all the lockers here were coffin-shaped.

"We still have some time before class. Would you like to meet some of my friends?", Jinafire asked.

"Sure. Lead the way", he said.

They started walking down the hall toward the front entrance. Jinnafire regarded Duncan; how alike and yet how different they were. The things that he's been through already in his young life; things that even with all her training she could never fully understand. Her heart felt for him, as if they truly were family.

"Forgive me, but may I ask a question, Duncan?"

"Sure, what do you want to know?"

"Your reaction when you learned of your father's request….are things truly so tense between you?"

Duncan sighed. "He's named me his successor as King, so he's obsessed with me getting strong enough to do so, whether I want it or not."

"And you don't want it?"

"I don't want to lose my humanity", he said softly. "When certain….events occur that drastically increase my powers, I lose a little more of my humanity and become more kaiju. Something like that happened in my last kaiju battle, and now I can't revert back enough to pass for a normie with a skin condition anymore. I used to look more human when I was relaxed. But now…..my eyes are perma-reptile and my claws no longer fully retract. So here I am."

"So you fear your power will eventually cost you yourself plus everything and everyone you hold dear?"

Duncan nodded slowly.

"I might be able to help you", she said.

"How?", he said with doubt in his voice, but hope in his eyes.

"I can teach you the Martial Arts of the Ancient Dragon Masters; unite your body, mind, and soul. It could give you the control over yourself that you seek while also making you stronger."

"You would do that….for me?", he whispered hopefully.

"What is family for?", she said with a smile. They arrived at the school entrance. "We will discuss it later in detail. There are some of my friends there by the fountain that I want you to meet."

The group included those Duncan saw earlier, plus few more; and they were converged around a figure that made his heart skip a beat!

(Now)

"Hi, Duncan. Welcome to Monster High! I'm Frankie Stein", she said with a big smile, her bolts sparking.

"Abby Bominable. Pleasink to meet you."

"I'm Robecca Steam, luv."

"G'day, Mate. I'm Lagoona Blue. And this is my boyfriend, Gil Webber". "Hey", said the boy wearing the fish-bowl on his head.

The very pale ghoul wearing glasses let out a series of moans and groans. The ghostly ghoul next to her with long purple hair and blue-within-periwinkle eyes said, "this is Ghoulia Yelps; she said 'welcome and pleased to meet you'. And I'm Spectra Vondergeist. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog: the 'Ghostly Gossip' for up-to-date school news posts! Speaking of which, can I get an interview?"

Duncan smiled. "Maybe some other time, but text me the link and I'll subscribe".

"Princess Cleo De Nile, daughter of Pharoah Ramses De Nile, and this is my boyfriend…."

"Deuse Gorgon. Sup?"

Duncan remembered him from earlier. "Hey, thanks for pointing me to the parking area earlier."

"That was you? Dude, you have got a _**sweet**_ ride!"

Duncan smiled. "Thanks! Built it myself with a little help. Anytime you want to check it out, just let me know." Deuse smiled and gave him a fist-bump.

"Ole, I am Skelita Calveras."

"And I'm Venus McFlytrap. I hope I can count on you to help save the environment?"

Duncan replied, "Well, I modified my motorcycle to be a solar hybrid?" Venus smiled. "Oh, I like him!"

The petite, pink&black loving vampire piped up with a big smile next, "I'm Draculaura, vegan vampire! And this cute, hunky werewolf is my boyfriend…"

"Clawd Wolf. I'm also captain of most of the school's teams, so let me know if you want to try-out, ok? And this is my sister…"

"I-it's nice to see you again so soon, Clawdeen", Duncan said with a smile. The jaws of all the guys and ghouls dropped in surprise and realization. "Thanks again for your help finding the Headmistress' office".

Clawdeen couldn't help but smile warmly, "Well, you _**did**_ save me from what coulda been a nasty fall…"

"That I caused….", he said sheepishly.

"True, but I won't hold that against you", she said with a smile, blushing.

The first bell rang just then.

"Well, I guess that's for us", Duncan said. "It was nice meeting you all. I look forward to getting to know all of you."

He smiled at Clawdeen, blushing slightly. "And it was great seeing you again, Clawdeen." He turned to walk inside with his cousin/guide Jinafire.

Clawdeen heard whispering among her ghoulfriends behind her, "If he looks back, he _**really**_ likes her…. _**a lot**_ …."

Duncan stopped and looked back at her briefly before disappearing through the door.

A collective, " **aaaaaawww!** " from the ghouls made Clawdeen growl and hang her head and shoulders. She raised her right hand, index finger pointing up, and firmly flexed said hand/pointed finger with each syllable; "Not. One. WORD!", then stomped into the school.

The others walked into school. Cleo spoke up once Clawdeen was gone, "Ghoul's got it _**bad**_."

"I'll say", Frankie agreed with a giggle, "but it's fang-tastically clawsome!"

"And you know what, ghouls?", said Robecca, "I'm pretty sure Duncan feels the same way about her."

xxXXxx

"You like her, don't you, Duncan?", Jinafire asked with a small, knowing smile.

"Wh-what?! No! I just met Clawdeen!", he stammered.

"You 'just met' several of my ghoulfriends. I never said the one you liked was Clawdeen", her smile widened, " _ **you**_ did."

Duncan face-palmed. "I don't know why, how, or even what is happening to me. I've already got enough heartache. I'm still in mourning from….before. I just want to throw myself into school and training, to the exclusion of all else. I knew for my first day, I **could** have just parked out front. But with so many students out front, I figured I'd just park in the student lot and go in the back…."

Jinafire smiled. "There is a very old and wise saying: 'one often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it'. Perhaps this is a sign for you."

"Please, Jinafire!", he whispered urgently. "I am a hybrid of the two races most monsters hate and/or fear most!"

He sighed dejectedly, "It would never work."

They entered the Mad Science classroom and headed for some seats in the back.

She looked at him with sympathy. "I understand the reasons you hesitate, Duncan. But do _**not**_ dismiss this. Clawdeen is one of my closest friends. I know her well. I am not telling you to pursue this, but at least be open to it and get to know her." She smiled and winked at him. "She just might pleasantly surprise you."

The rest of the class filed in.

"E-excuse me, but is this seat taken?"

Duncan looked up to see a boy who looked as normal as can be, almost the stereotypical 'nerd', except for the eye-brow piercing and blonde streaked black hair.

"Help yourself", Duncan said. "I'm Duncan."

"Thanks. I'm Jackson", he replied, shaking Duncan's hand as he sat down. "Hey, Jin."

"Hello, Jackson. Duncan is my cousin and a new student here, so I am showing him around school", she explained. Then she had a brilliant idea; inspired by Duncan earlier referring to himself as a 'hybrid'. "However, I have something urgent to do during our free period after this class. Jackson, would you mind taking Duncan to the student lounge in the catacombs and introducing him to more of our friends?"

"Sure, no problem", he said with a smile.

"My thanks", she said with a short bow of her head,

"OY! THAT'S ENOUGH TALKIN' BACK THERE! CLASS HAS STARTED!", yelled Mr. 'Hack' Hackington, the teacher resembling a horror movie butcher wearing a ragged grey mask on his bald head


	3. Chapter 2

**_I don't own Firebreather or Monster High. Nor do I own the Hex Girls; aside from tweaking their origins, the Hex Girls are as they are from "Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost"._**

 ** _Torq and his "Horde" are my OC's._**

Chapter 2

"Jeez! Is that guy always that intense?" Duncan asked as he and Jackson headed for the catacombs.

"Yeah, pretty much", Jackson said a dull tone. "When he's not napping after giving us instructions for an experiment, he's pranking us with experiments that will explode smoke or slime in our faces. Mr. Hack is also the teacher that volunteers for detention duty the most."

"Figures", Duncan snarked.

Just then a gang of 3 orcs, an ogre, and a hobgoblin started coming down the hall from the other way, the other students giving them a wide berth.

"Outta the way, normie!", one snarled, shoving Jackson into the wall.

"I'm only half-normie, you jerk", Jackson said under his breath, but a surprised Duncan heard him. Unfortunately, so did the hobgoblin.

"You say something, wimp?", the gang leader sneered. Jackson looked away. "Didn't think so! Ha!"

"Hey!", Duncan growled with fire in his mouth, "Leave him alone, or you have a problem with **_me_**."

"Izzat so? Well lucky for both'a ya, we got somewhere to be right now, so we'll deal with both'a ya later!"

He turned to Jackson and laughed sadistically, "See you in gym class, normie wimp!", then motioned his crew to follow him down the hall.

"Thanks, Duncan", Jackson said sincerely.

"It's cool. Who were those dill-weeds anyway?"

"*pfft* Torq and his 'Horde'. The ogre is named Lunk, and I can never remember the names of the orc triplets. Monster High was the only school that would take them after they got expelled from their old school last winter."

"The 'Horde'? Really?", Duncan snickered. "What is this? 'World of Warcraft'?"

Jackson didn't laugh. "They're no joke, Duncan. When it comes to bullies, they make even Manny Taur look like a friendly garden gnome, and he's a minotaur! Not even Toralei can stand them."

"Meow! Did I hear my name?", purred a feline voice as they turned a corner in the catacombs, where they were stopped by an orange & black-striped werecat and her 2 white & grey sidekicks.

"Hey, Jackson. Who's you cute friend?", she asked as she stepped right into Duncan's personal space.

"Uh…I'm Duncan. New student here."

"Duncan is Jinafire's cousin", Jackson said.

"A dragon, huh?", she cooed, as she trailed a clawed finger seductively from Duncan's chest to his chin. "Well aren't you just the cat's meow?"

"Don't you have a boyfriend Toralei?" Jackson said disapprovingly.

"Can it, Jackson!", she said with an edge, before looking lustfully into Duncan's eyes. "Rocco knows we're not exclusive," she purred.

"Uh, Jackson? Don't we have someplace to be?"

"Yeah, Duncan", Jackson said, getting the hint. "We better get going."

The boys rushed off, leaving Toralei watching after Duncan with a lusty glint in her eyes, tapping her fangs with her clawed finger. "Duncan, huh? Super-cute. Me likey. Reeoowr!"

"What. Was. THAT?", Duncan asked once they had left the werecats far behind.

"Toralei and the twins; Meowlody and Purrsephony", Jackson said. "While not actual bullies, they **_are_** troublemakers, especially Toralei."

"She makes my skin crawl", Duncan said, a little creeped out. Then his curiosity raised a question.

"Jackson, what did you mean when you said you were 'half-normie'? It doesn't bother me, I'm just curious."

Jackson sighed. "My family name is Jekyll. For more than a century, ever since my ancestor's original experiment; every other generation or so, a male in my family develops a split personality that actually becomes a physical alter-ego when exposed to some kind of trigger. Music temporarily turns me into a friendly but unreliable, annoying, and musically inclined monster named Holt Hyde. Ah! Here we are! The Student Lounge."

Duncan was intrigued by Jackson's story, but chose to drop it considering it obviously made Jackson uncomfortable. Besides, the large cavern they had arrived in looked very plush and comfortable!

xxXXxx

Jinafire entered the small room used for the Fashion Club. Sure enough, there was Clawdeen sitting on the wide windowsill with her sketch book. Jinafire and Skelita had both joined Clawdeen as designers in forming the club after their adventure in Scaris last year. But judging from all the crumpled paper balls on the floor, Clawdeen was distracted, and Jinafire was pretty sure she knew the reason.

"Hello, Clawdeen", she said warmly.

"Are you gonna mess with me too, Jin?", Clawdeen said with a touch of sarcasm. "Or are you gonna tell me to stay away from your cousin?"

"Not at all. In fact", he smile deepened, "I can tell you that you made as strong an impression on him as he did you. I truly believe he shares your feelings."

"I do NOT….", Clawdeen started to protest, only for Jin to cross her arms and give her a smirking deadpan look. Clawdeen slumped and surrendered, hugging her knees.

"Ok, maybe I **do** really like him. I- I've _**never**_ felt this way before, and I don't know what to do! I never really dated much; never really wanted or needed it. And dating Draculaura's cousin Thad was, UGH!, a huge disaster. OH! Just thinking about that sparkling, self-absorbed blood-sucker makes me want to break things!"

"Tell me, Clawdeen, when you first met Duncan, do you normally walk that way at that time?"

Clawdeen thought for a moment. "No. I don't know why I was going that way, actually."

Jinifire smiled and nodded, as if this confirmed something. "Would it surprise you to know that Duncan had not originally planned on going that way either?"

Clawdeen's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You're kiddin' me, right?"

Jin shook her head gently.

"Whoa…", Clawdeen whispered as that sank in.

"There is something else you need to know, Clawdeen."

"There it is, the other shoe", Clawdeen groaned. "What is it?"

"Be patient with him. He has been through…..a traumatic experience recently, leaving him deeply scarred and still in a great deal of emotional pain. He also carries certain…..burdens that he believes curse him to rejection."

"What happened to him?", Clawdeen asked with more concern than she was ready to admit.

"It is not my place to say. But once you know, you will understand. Until then", she gently squeezed Clawdeen's hand, "just get to know him and see what happens. His heart, though broken, is good and kind."

Clawdeen smiled a little. "Thanks, Jin. I think I will."

xxXXxx

Jackson had introduced Duncan to several more friends in the Student Lounge: Manny Taur, Lorna McNessie, Wydowna Spider, Slo-Mo, and Operetta. Then they saw Frankie waving to them from a table in the far corner, along with three ghouls that each seemed to be two different monsters mashed together, and three more who appeared to be vampires.

"Hey, guys! Good to see you! How was your first class, Duncan?" Frankie asked.

"Not too bad," Duncan answered with a small laugh, "but Mr. Hack is a real character, though."

"You had Mr. Hack right off the bat? And survived unscathed?! That's a great sign!", Frankie laughed and it infected the whole group. When the laughter died down, Jackson spoke up.

"Everyone, this is Duncan; a new student and Jinafire's cousin. Duncan, I'd like you to meet some of my best friends here at Monster High: the hybrid monsters!"

"Avia Trotter, harpy-centaur, nice to meet you", the winged centaur girl said with a smirk and firm hand-shake.

"B-Bonita Femur, daughter of the Mothman and a skeleton", the pink & black winged ghoul said with a shy smile.

"Guys, you should totally check out this little bat flying around up here", the ghostly female floating near the ceiling said in a very mellow, spacey voice.

Avia rolled her eyes, smirking. "And our free-spirited mermaid-ghost is Sirena Von Boo. Don't mind her, she's sweet but easily distracted."

"Thorne", "Dusk", "Luna", the last three ghouls introduced themselves in-turn; then together, "We're the Hex Girls!" Thorne then took the lead, "Our moms are witches and our dad is a vampire."

"So three lovely hybrid half-sisters, huh? That's cool", Duncan said with a smirk. The Hex Girls smiled right back, their fangs gleaming.

Now Duncan understood why Jinafire asked Jackson to bring him here. She knew the hydrids would be here at this time of day, and Jackson was half-normie himself! Jin wanted Duncan to know he wasn't alone, that there were others similar to himself. He still wasn't ready to open up, but he felt better about doing it someday. For now, he settled into pleasant conversation with his new friends. He learned that the Hex Girls were getting ready to compete in a Battle of the Bands, and that Jackson had a goth girlfriend named Claire who attended the nearby normie high school. Duncan began to feel comfortable in his new school.

xxXXxx

Jinafire arrived in the lounge about ten minutes before end of period. Jackson waved her over to the table he was sharing with Frankie and the hybrids, who all greeted her.

"You're cousin is a great guy, Jin," Jackson said, "He stood up to Torq and his buddies when they gave me a hard time on the way down here.

Jinafire smiled. "Yes, his heart is brave and kind. Speaking of Duncan, where is he?"

Frankie pointed out to the balcony. "We all talked for a while, then he excused himself, saying he needed a moment alone. That was five minutes ago."

"My thanks, to all of you", Jin said sincerely, and walked out to the rail next to Duncan. He seemed lost in thought. Not wishing to disturb him, she waited patiently as he looked out over the catacomb's lava-flow.

Duncan sighed and spoke softly, "The last time I saw a view like this, my dad tossed me into the lava."

Jinafire gasped in surprise. "I know, right?", Duncan chuckled. "It was a gathering of his kaiju council, and he had just declared me as his son and heir to his throne, over the objections of a few. When I came out, my powers had increased a hundred-fold and I had evolved into my 'Firebreather' kaiju form. Then I blacked out. When I woke; I was outside, alone, and back to 'normal' except my armor scales were now permanent."

Jinafire remained respectfully silent. Then Duncan turned to her, "Thanks, Jinafire."

"For what, Duncan?"

He smirked and tilted his head towards their friends. "As great as Monster High is, I really did need to know I wasn't alone…..far from it, in fact."

She smiled, "As I said before, Duncan; what is family for?"

Just then, the bell rang.

"Oh boy, time for Gym class. Great", Jackson groaned sarcastically. Then he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. I've got your back", Duncan said, remembering what Torq had said before.

xxXXxx

"So what can I expect from Gym class, Jackson", Duncan asked in a mildly cautious tone while they changed in the locker-room.

"Well, knowing Coach Igor, he'll 'break us in' with dodgeball for the first week of school", Jackson groaned. "Claims it gives him an idea of our 'potential'."

"Why am I not surprised?", Duncan grumbled.

"Hey, Jackson", a friendly voice said, the speaker appearing from the next row of lockers, having already finished changing into gym clothes. He had dark grey skin, horse ears, rainbow hair & horse-tail, and a small horn on his head.

"Hey, Neighthan. We missed you in the student lounge last period."

"Yeah, I was helping the school nurse with my unicorn healing powers."

Duncan made a small cough.

"Oh! Neighthan, this is Duncan, he's new and Jinafire's cousin."

"Nice to meet you", Duncan said, extending his hand.

"Likewise", Neighthan said as he shook his hand. "Neighthan Rot, zombie-unicorn. I take it you already met my fellow hybrids?"

"I have. They're all very cool ghouls…."

"Well, well, well! What have we here?", a familiar sneering voice snickered. Torq appeared from another row of lockers, with his gang in tow. "Three more wimps ripe for slaughter, eh, boys?", eliciting sadistic chuckles from his crew as they headed for the door to the gym. Jackson and Neighthan groaned.

"Jackson, Neighthan, spread the word", Duncan grinned wickedly. "I have a plan."

xxXXxx

'Some students in the bleachers', Duncan thought to himself when he saw them as he entered the gym; and saw Spectra wave to him, Jackson, and Neighthan from the top row. They waved back.'They must have a free period.'

After some stretches and a few warm-up exercises; true to form, Coach Igor told the class to break into 4 teams for dodgeball in the 2 courts he set up. One ref'd by him, and the other by Ghoulia. As expected, Torq and his Horde not only made up 1 team themselves, but also chose to face the team of "wimps" as their opponents. Chaos and mayhem ensued at the sound of Coach's whistle.

Most of Jackson's team was eliminated quickly, leaving only Jackson and Duncan. 'Deja vu', Duncan thought.

"All too easy!", Torq sneered. "And fun!"

"Get bent, Torq!", Jackson jeered as he threw a ball at the hobgoblin. Easily dodged. Then Torq and Lunk both wound up and chucked balls at him…..only to see them caught, one in each hand with ease, by Duncan!

"What the….?! GET 'IM!", Torq snarled to his crew.

The spectators and the rest of the class stopped and watched in awe as Duncan easily deflected multiple balls using the two in his hands. Spectra began videoing the game with her iCoffin. Torq chucked his last ball at Duncan's face at high speed, and Duncan caught it with a smirk between the two in his hands.

Torq snarled, "No way!"

Meanwhile , Jackson and Neighthan quietly rolled a few balls closer to Duncan for easy ammo, as per Duncan's plan. Duncan began bouncing all three balls in sequence as he eyed his opponents, noting the other balls that were now close enough to use.

"Spread out! And be ready for anything!", Torq growled, and his Horde obeyed. For all the good it did them.

"BOOYAKASHA!", Duncan yelled as he cut loose. The orc triplets were the first to be eliminated, in quick succession. Then Lunk took one to the gut, and another to the top of his head as he doubled over. Torq to his credit, dodged one shot by jumping straight up…only to take a second right in the face while in mid-air! He slammed painfully to the floor flat on his back with a loud thud.

Torq's groan of pain was heard clearly in the silence, then the class and the several spectators erupted in applause and cheers, until Coach blew his whistle. "Torq! Catch with your claws! Not your face!"

"Headline: 'New Student Takes Down School Bullies'! I **must** interview Duncan for my post!", Spectra said grinning to herself. "I'll just wait for him after class to arrange it."

xxXXxx

"That was clawsome, Duncan!", Jackson said as they finished changing back into their normal clothes in the locker-room after class.

"I'll say!", Neighthan chuckled. "Those guys have had it coming for a long time. Your plan was so voltageous, that it was an honor to be of help."

"What can I say? I've never liked bullies", Duncan said with a smirk.

Just then, Torq and 2 of the orc brothers appeared at one end of the row of lockers, while Lunk and the third orc appeared at the other. The Horde closed on them.

"Get lost, half-breeds", Torq snarled.

They were about to protest when Duncan spoke up, "It's ok, guys. Go."

Jackson whispered, "Good luck", then he and Neighthan withdrew from the locker-room.

Duncan assessed the situation: 5-to-1 odds, enclosed space, high potential for damage to school property and/or injuries to innocent bystanders. He had no doubt he could take them all easily, but it was too risky here.

"You know what's comin' now, don't ya?", Torq sneered sadistically.

'Deja vu again', Duncan thought to himself as he stood up.

"Well, traditionally, this is where I hand each of you your butts; all nicely kicked and on a slab", he said with a smirk.

The looks on the faces of the Horde morphed from sadistic smirks to annoyed anger at his comment. Why the hell wasn't this punk afraid of them?!

"But I'm kinda trying **not** to get into trouble on my first day of school. Sssooo….LATER!", he laughed as he leap-frogged over Torq and made a mad dash for the locker-room door, with the Horde in hot-pursuit!

xxXXxx

Spectra was waiting patiently for Duncan to come out of the locker-room so she could ask for an interview, when she saw Jackson and Neighthan come back out into the gym looking anxious.

"Guys, what's wrong?", she asked in concern.

"The Horde are gonna pound Duncan!", Jackson exclaimed.

"Oh my ghoul!", Spectra grabbed her iCoffin, just as Duncan charged through the door with the Horde not far behind. She began to video the chase as she followed it through the school. This looked to be even better than the video of the dodgeball game!

The chase led through the hallways, stairwells, vampatheatre, clawdetorium, even the library and entry hall. Duncan was fast and agile, confounding his pursuers with obstacles and switch-backs; and all the while careful not to cause damage or injuries to his fellow students. He even opened his wings through the slots in his jacket to glide down over a packed stairwell, while Torq and his buddies pushed their way through at any cost.

'These guys just don't know when to quit!', Duncan thought, as he chanced to grab a skateboard from another student and kick it along the floor towards the Horde. Torq managed to jump over it. Lunk wasn't so lucky, landing on top of the orc triplets.

Duncan entered the creepateria and dashed for the door on the far side, only to find it locked as Torq (and Spectra) caught up to him. Duncan looked around: open space, and he and Torq were alone.

"You _**don't**_ want to fight me, Torq!", he warned.

"Fight?", Torq sneered, cracking his knuckles. "No fight, just me poundin' ya!"

Torq swung his right fist to lay Duncan out; only for Duncan to effortlessly catch it in his left hand….and _**SQUEEZE**_. Torq yowled in pain, dropping to his knees as the bones of his fist ground together. What the hell?! This punk was smaller than him! How can he be so STRONG?! Pride alone prompted him to swing his other fist, only for Duncan to contemptuously swat it aside with ease.

"ENOUGH!", Duncan roared, flames coming out of his mouth, burning off Torq's eye-brows and Mohawk. He grabbed and lifted the hobgoblin by the throat until his feet were dangling a few inches off the ground.

The Horde arrived at that moment, and froze in shock at what they saw. How was this possible?!

"If I EVER see you or any of your crap-friends bullying ANYONE in this school again, I will ROAST every one of you and hang you all from the roof of the school by your UNDERWEAR! **GOT IT?!** " Duncan growled.

Torq choked out a strangled, "yes", then Duncan dropped him unceremoniously to the floor in a heap, where he struggled to get his breath back. The Horde stepped aside to let Duncan pass by and leave the creepateria. And Spectra got every second on video.

Duncan tried to find Jinafire, so they could get to their next class, when the school P.A. system crackled to life. "Attention! Will Duncan Rosenblatt please report to the Headmistress' office immediately!"

Duncan face-palmed, "Aww, maaan!"

xxXXxx

Headmistress Bloodgood's body paced behind her desk while her head glared and addressed the students sitting before her.

"Duncan, I am very disappointed to see you in my office under these circumstances on your first day."

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry", he said humbly.

"And you five", she looked at the members of the Horde, "are just as guilty, if not more so! This isn't the first time you've been in my office after causing damages, injuries, or general mayhem!"

She placed her head back on her shoulders and took a calming breath, "I'm afraid under the circumstances, all 6 of you will be suspend….."

Just then Spectra phased through the door just before Jackson and Neighthan barged through it without knocking, shouting in unison, "Headmistress, wait!"

"What is the meaning of this behavior?!", Bloodgood demanded.

"We have evidence that Duncan is completely innocent!", Spectra said, eliciting angry glares from Torq and his Horde.

"Indeed?", Bloodgood said, impressed that Duncan had already made friends willing to step up for him in such a way. "Show me."

Jackson and Neighthan first gave their accounts of what happened in the locker-room. Then Spectra showed Bloodgood the videos of the dodgeball game and the chase through the school; pointing out that not only was Duncan extremely careful not to cause any injuries or damage himself, but that it was in fact Torq who threw the first punch in the creepateria.

Bloodgood contemplated all of it for a few moments, and made a decision. "Duncan, you and your friends are free to return to class."

"Thank you, Headmistress", Duncan said, relieved, as he stood to leave with his friends.

"Not at all", she said with a small smile. She then turned to glare at the Horde. "As for you five; I am at my **limit** with you! Two weeks suspension! And two weeks detention when you return to school! And if you step out of line one more time, you will be EXPELLED from Monster High! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"


	4. Chapter 3: A Hero's Welcome

Chapter 3: a Hero's welcome

"So nice of you to join us, Mr. Roseblatt", Mr. Rotter said with an edge of sarcasm.

"Sorry, sir. Headmistress needed to see me", he said sheepishly. "And please call me Duncan."

"Yes, I am well avare", Mr. Rotter said with an arched eye-brow. "Now please take your seat and try to catch up, Duncan."

He sees Jinafire wave to him, as she had saved him a seat between her and…Clawdeen?!

He made his way to the seat and greeted both ghouls.

"Everything ok, Duncan?", Clawdeen asked in mild concern. "We heard Bloodgood call you to her office…..?"

"Y-yeah! Don't worry about it. It was no big whoop", he said with a nervous smile. "So what are we doing here in Hiss-tory class?"

Clawdeen raised an eye-brow, but let it go. Jinafire on the other hand suspected more, since she had been in Gym class with him, but also let it go for now; intending bring it up privately later.

As Hiss-tory class went on, Mr. Rotter asked what the students wanted to touch on this year, sparking a lively discussion. In fact, Jinafire smiled seeing Duncan and Clawdeen interacting so well with each other in class.

Cleo then spoke up, "Mr. Rotter? All of this just sounds like everything we've done before for this class: major and minor monster races, our own scare-itage reports, monster and normie hiss-tory, yada, yada, yada, and so forth."

"Yes. Your point, Miss De Nile?"

"How about we study and discuss something different as well? Like the monster kingdom that my Daddy says is the richest of them all: the Kaiju?"

The whole class gasped in shock, and Duncan tensed. Jinafire gently laid her hand on his arm. He nodded in gratitude. Fortunately, Clawdeen didn't notice, as she was looking at Cleo like the rest of the class.

"Miss De Nile! That is a subject best left for….individual study!", Mr. Rotter scolded. "Yes, the kaiju are part of our monster world, and their kingdom does contain riches beyond imagining; riches they themselves care little about. But they are monsters of immense size and power! They mostly keep to themselves and are **_not_** to be trifled with!"

"But my Daddy sits on the Monster Council of Royals, he **knows** the kaiju king, Belloc", Cleo said, drawing Duncan's attention. "Daddy told me Belloc supports and advocates peaceful coexistence."

"True. However, Belloc is exceptionally wise and enlightened amongst his kind", Mr. Rotter went on. "Fortunately, he also has the strength and power to back it up as King. Class, I assume you are all avare that several rogue kaiju attacked a small desert town this summer?"

Most of the students nodded or affirmed that they had. And again, Duncan tensed. Clawdeen noticed this time, but assumed it was because this was the first Duncan had heard of the attack.

"MEGTAF was unable to stop them. It was only when Belloc himself intervened and killed one of them did the others retreat. Now….any further discussion of the kaiju is **_closed_** , Miss De Nile!"

Cleo pouted, but said nothing more. Then the bell rang, ending class.

"Chapter 1 of the text tonight for discussion tomorrow. Dismissed," said Mr. Rotter, as he threw down a smoke pellet. When the smoke cleared, he was still looking for the release for his hidden door. Finally finding it, he grumbled and tossed down another smoke pellet before entering.

"Lunch time", Clawdeen said with a smile. "Thank Ra. I'm starvin' over here!" Then she turned to Duncan with a hopeful smile on her face and batted her long eyelashes, "See you in the creepateria, Duncan?"

Duncan was falling into those golden eyes, until Jinafire elbowed him gently in the side, snapping him out of his daze. "Uh…yeah! Sure! I'll be right there", he said sheepishly, then with confidence, "Just let me dump my stuff in my locker."

Clawdeen nodded and walked away. Again, Duncan's gaze was inexorably drawn to the sexy sway of her hips and ass. Jinafire placed a finger under his chin to close his jaw, which he had been unaware had dropped. "You better hurry, or lunch will be over", she teased.

While at his locker, he heard dozens of iCoffins around him beep with what he assumed was a notification of some kind.

"A new post on Spectra's blog", Jinafire confirmed, holding her own iCoffin. It reminded him that he still needed to subscribe to Spectra's blog. He didn't notice Jin's eyes widen as she read/watched the post.

However, while walking to the creepateria, he did start to notice students smiling as they stared at him and some whispering in awe. Jinafire was unusually silent, but also smiling. A crowd of students outside the creepateria parted like the Red Sea to let him through. 'What is going on?', he asked himself.

The creepateria fell silent for a moment when he entered, as all eyes turned to him. Then the place erupted in cheers and applause! A random ghoul ran up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off giggling. A short, green-skinned nerd monster came up to him with a grateful look on his face, "I just want to say, everything you did….wow! Anything I or my fellow brainiacs can do for you, just ask!"

Duncan was completely bewildered as the small monster walked away. He and Jinafire got their lunches and walked over to the table their friends were sitting at. After he put his tray down, Clawdeen smirked and slugged him in the shoulder.

" ** _OW!_** What was that for?!"

"For lying to me in class, Hot-Stuff," she said with a sly smirk, handing him her iCoffin as he sat down next to her. He read the headline of Spectra's blog: 'New Student Takes Down School Bullies!', and watched the videos of the dodgeball game, the chase through the school, and the confrontation that took place in this very room earlier.

"It's BIG NEWS!", Spectra said with glee, "I've NEVER had a scoop this big on the first day of school before!"

"This is nuts", he said, a bit overwhelmed.

"You're a hero, Sugah", Operetta said in her charming Southern twang. "Get used to it."

"I'll say", a new feminine voice said from behind him.

Cleo scoffed as everyone looked at the newcomer, "Amanita! What do **you** want here?"

None of the ghouls were glad to see her. Duncan saw that Amanita seemed to be a slightly taller and more exotic version of Venus, but with long wavy dark purple hair, full purple lips, and purple eyes. Something about her rubbed him the wrong way, as she shoved herself between him and Clawdeen.

"What? I just wanted to meet, thank, and congratulate our new celebrity hero", she said in a sarcastically innocent tone. She looked seductively into Duncan's eyes. "Amanita Nightshade, the rarest and most beautiful flower in the garden", she cooed, tracing a finger along his collarbone, as a sweet alluring scent washed over him. He smiled. She **_was_** beautiful….

Clawdeen growled and pulled the plant ghoul off of him. "Keep your pollen to yourself, 'Nita!", she snarled as she got in her face. Duncan cleared the fog from his brain once the scent was gone.

Jinafire glared at the plant ghoul. "Duncan is my cousin, Amanita", she warned, "And fire is not exactly healthy for plants."

"Fine, I need to go to the greenhouse anyway", she snarked, pouting. "I'll see you later, Duncan", she cooed, blowing him a kiss as she turned, putting a deliberately sexy sway to her hips as she walked away.

"One'a these days, I'm gonna **PULL** that weed!", Clawdeen snarled.

"Please do!", Cleo said with a smirk. "She's literally been a thorn in all our sides for way too long."

"You think you ghouls got it bad? Try being her cousin", Venus groaned.

"She's even worse than Toralei", Duncan said.

All the ghouls reacted in unison, " **WHAT?!** "

"Yeah", Jackson said, "Toralei totally came on to Duncan big time in the catacombs, practically **threw** herself at him."

Duncan face-palmed. "I need a drink", he groaned as he headed for the soda machine.

"I am gonna **_SKIN_** that cat **_ALIVE_**!" Clawdeen growled. Then she realized all her friends were looking at her. As were Deuce, Gil, Jackson, and her own brother, Clawd; all with knowing smirks. Even the hybrids had caught-on by now.

"Ok", she said as she sat back down, "I admit it; I **_do_** really like him. I've never felt this way before and I'm not sure what to do."

Draculaura smiled and hugged her friend in gentle encouragement.

"Just remember everything I said before, Clawdeen" Jinafire said with a smile. "I'm sure it will work out for you two."

Clawdeen sighed with a soft smile. "Thanks, I will. But none'a you say nothin' to Duncan about this, ok? I'll tell him myself when I'm….ready." They all silently crossed their hearts, all happy for her.

Duncan came back with two large sodas, handing one to Clawdeen. "Your drink looked empty, so I got you another", he said with a smile, "You like Dark-Cherry DraCola?"

"Love it", She said, blushing. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Mine is half that, and half Mountain Doom", he smiled and took a sip. Then he had to ask her, "What's with the cardboard fence around your tray?"

"It's so Draculaura can't see my rare steak. She can't stand the sight of blood, but I really needed a good meal. So, I help out my ghoul like this."

"You are such a good friend, Clawdeen", Draculaura said as she opened her tomato juice.

Smiles all around the table. Duncan dug into his lunch. While he still needed to eat coal and/or charcoal, he had recently learned that he **could** eat normal food as well; much to the relief of his taste-buds. While some of the more…..exotic menu items were disgustingly inedible to him, the creepateria also served some normie selections for those monsters whose tastes ran that way. So he had a BBQ bacon cheeseburger, fries, apple, salad, and a disgusting blob of …something. He offered his salad to Draculaura (who accepted cheerfully) while he breathed fire on the blob until it was reduced to solid charcoal, thus making it edible to him.

The conversation turned to the school sports teams, and what their chances were with Heath gone for the semester. Clawd said that most of the teams should still do ok, but the SKRM team might have a problem being short a player.

"Granted, we have Abby as an alternate…", he said.

"Pleasink to be of help", she added.

"Thanks, Abby. But we still need someone to fill Heath's spot, and there aren't any more players in school who can hack it since the rest of you ghouls decided to stick with fear-leading."

"Aeeouhh!", Ghoulia moaned, motioning Robecca over to her while she replayed the footage of Duncan's chase through the school on her lap-top. Her mechanical eyes widened.

"Clawd", she said with a smile, pointing to the video, "as your co-captain, might I make a suggestion?"

He watched the video again, and it was like a light-bulb clicked on in a pitch black room.

"Duncan!", he exclaimed. "You're fast, strong, and you've got moves I've never seen before! I got just one question: how good are you on roller-skates?"

"Who-with-the-what-now?!"

xxXXxx

So far, Kenny's first day at New Salem High was pretty good. From the moment he pulled into school in his Jeep and through his first few classes, his fellow students had been friendly, even welcoming. He was still disappointed that he and Duncan couldn't attend the same school, but he understood the reasons. Kenny was grateful that Duncan and his mom had taken him in and made him a part of their family after the death of his father.

Kenny was at his locker and about to go to lunch, when he was roughly turned and slammed against the wall of lockers by a pair of rather large twin jocks wearing aqua & white letterman jackets.

"I thought so", the one to his right said, sniffing. "He's still got that 'new kid' smell, Rick."

"What should we do first, Chris?", Rick asked. "Wedgie? Locker stuffing?"

Kenny was no longer the scarecrow he was just a year ago. In fact, thanks to working out and the adventures he'd had with Duncan and his friends, he now had a slim but athletic build; like a swimmer. However, he knew he would physically be no match for the two brutes holding him now. However, they did seem fairly dim. Time to try being clever.

"Guys, if you need a few minutes to talk it over, I could always come back later?", Kenny said with a smirk, as he tried to walk away.

"Nah! You can wait right here!", Rick sneered, pulling Kenny back.

"But feel free to tell us your preference!", Chris said sarcastically.

"Well, if it isn't Dumb and Dumber", said a goth girl when she approached.

"Don't even start with us, Claire!", Rick warned.

She grabbed her phone. "Oh, what's this text? The marching band gets to practice on the football field right after school, so football practice is gonna run really late tonite?", she said with a smirk.

"No way!", they both exclaimed.

"Way", she smirked.

"No way those dweebs get our field!", Chris said, rather irked.

"Way."

"We better go talk to Coach!", Rick said in a mild panic, as they ran off.

"Never gets old!", she smirked, twirling her phone like a gun-slinger.

"Thanks", Kenny said sincerely.

"Forget it. Messing with those morons always makes my day", she said, extending her hand. "Name's Claire."

"Ken Rogers", he said, as he shook her hand.

"Kenny Rogers, huh?", said a boy w light brown hair as he approached with a friendly smirk. "Do you know when to hold….?"

"Please!", Kenny begged with a pained smile. "Heard that joke waaaay too many times."

Claire rolled her 'smokey-eye' shadowed hazel eyes, but smiled. "This is my friend, Chad."

"Hey", both boys said as they shook hands.

"Well, Kenny is it?", said an attractive blonde from nearby, "Just because you're new doesn't mean you shouldn't be vigilant with the monsters we're forced to share this town with."

"Lilith", Claire groaned, rolling her eyes "why don't you give it a rest? Have you forgotten that some of them are our friends? And, hey!, my boyfriend is a monster?"

"Yeah", Chad said. "And remember, it was you and the twins who caused all that trouble last year. It got so out of hand, that even **you** felt bad enough to help undo it. Not all monsters are bad, remember?"

"And not all monsters are good, either", she retorted, then looked at the newcomer. "Remember that, Kenny."

"Who was that?", Kenny asked his two new friends, as Lilith walked away.

Claire huffed, "Lilith Van Hellscream. Her uncle is the world's foremost monster hunter/expert. It's people like him that give us 'normies' a bad name. But enough of this stupidity, let's go get some lunch. Care to join us, Kenny?"

"I could eat", Kenny said with a smirk, and they all headed for the cafeteria.

"So where're you from, Kenny?", Chad asked.

"The southwest, desert country. My foster family moved us here just a few weeks ago. I've never lived anywhere this green before", he said. Then he decided to 'test the waters' based on something Claire said to Lilith. "We got a house practically smack dab on the line dividing the two sides of town, so I've seen a few monsters. They don't seem so bad to me."

"Trust us", Claire said, "most of them are cool and just want to be left alone to live regular lives just like 'normal people'. As I said earlier, my boyfriend is a monster; although technically, he's half-human (this got Kenny's attention!). He attends Monster High on the other side of town. His name is Jackson. His 'monster' side, Holt Hyde, is the best DJ in the state."

"Whoa….that's cool."

"I know, right?", Claire laughed. "A few of us are friends with monster teens over there. Sometimes, they invite us to their dances or parties, which are always off the hook. What sucks is that most of the adults on our side of town won't let us do the same for them. Stupid adult morons. And Lilith's uncle is the worst one."

They got their lunches, found some seats, and kept talking as they ate. Claire mentioned that they sometimes went shopping at the 'Maul' on the other side of town, giving them a chance to see some of their monster friends, as well as get cool stuff not available at the normie mall.

'I can't wait to compare notes with Duncan tonight about our first days of school', Kenny thought to himself, smiling.

xxXXxx

Duncan wasn't sure what to say. In the wake of Clawd and Robecca asking him to try out for the team, Ghoulia and Spectra showed him some videos of their Skultimate Roller Maze (SKRM, aka: 'Scream') team in competition, and the sport looked awesome.

Finally he said, "Well, I **used** to be pretty good, but I haven't skated for years. I have no idea if I still got it."

"Please, Duncan?", Robecca asked, the gears in her eyes turning.

"Yeah, Dude", Deuce said with a grin, "just give it a try. I'll bet my shades that you'd be clawsome."

"Well, even if I wanted to—and I'm not saying I **do** —do they even make skates that can accommodate _**these**_?", Duncan asked, flexing his clawed toes.

"Uuahuh aheeiuh."

"You're right, Ghoulia!", Clawdeen said. "Scarah Screams works at the sporting goods store in the Maul! May be she can help you out. We can all go to the Maul tomorrow after school!"

"Shopping!", all the ghouls said in unison.

"And if you find some skates that work for ya", Clawd said, "you can try-out in a couple days. Fair enough?"

Duncan thought about it. If this worked out, it just might make his dad happy and get him off his back; and it _**did**_ look fun. Besides, he didn't want to let his new friends down, especially….

"Ok, I'll try-out", he said, to the approval of everyone. Then he laughed, "But if I fall on my face and embarrass myself, Clawd, I'm gonna singe all your fur off!"

Clawd deadpanned with a smirk, while the others all laughed, including Clawdeen….a sound that sent Duncan's heart to paradise. She was so beautiful when she laughed…

The bell rang, ending lunch break.

"I believe we have Claw-culus now, Duncan", Jin said, checking their class schedule.

"Ah! Eiuhou!", Ghoulia moaned.

"Excellent!", Jin smirked.

"Huh? What?", Duncan said confused. "Sorry, but I don't understand zombie-ese yet."

"Ghoulia is also in our class, Duncan. She may be a zombie, but she is also the smartest ghoul in school."

"Cool!", he said. "Because I know I'm gonna need help! That is, if you don't mind, Ghoulia?"

The zombie smiled and nodded.

xxXXxx

After the last class ended at 3pm, Duncan met several of his new friends in the student parking lot. Cleo and Deuse waved good bye as they left in his Must-Fang convertible. Jinafire had privately asked to accompany Duncan home to meet his family and discuss his training, so she was strapping his spare helmet on. Meanwhile, Duncan was chatting with Clawdeen, Clawd, and met their younger sister Howleen, as they waited for Draculaura to pull up with her car to drive them home.

"You know, Duncan", Clawdeen said, "when we met, I was curious why you had slots in your jacket and coat. Now I know: they're for your wings."

"Yeah", he said sheepishly, "when they first grew, I ruined a lot of shirts and stuff whenever they came out. So, I had to improvise."

"You know, there's a few shops at the Maul that sell clothes for monsters with wings", she said, smiling coyly. "I'm also an amateur designer, so I could design something for you myself…or I could even work on what you already have…make the openings less visible….if you want?"

"I think I'd like that", Duncan said, getting lost in her eyes again; as she was in his. "And I'd love to see your designs sometime. All of them, not just ones for me."

Clawdeen blushed.

Just then, Draculaura pulled up in the car her father gave her for her last birthday. The Wolf siblings all climbed into the convertible, Clawd in the front passenger seat, next to his ghoulfriend.

"See you tomorrow!", Draculaura said, cheerfully waving, as did Clawdeen and her siblings, as they drove away.

Jinafire smiled knowingly. "Let us go, Duncan. I look forward to meeting your mother and foster brother."

"Right, let's go", as he started his motorcycle.


	5. Chapter 4

**_I don't own Firebreather or Monster High. Vanna Pirella and her mother are my OC's._**

Chapter 4

"Mom?", Duncan called out, as he and Jinafire came through the door connecting the garage to the house.

"In the kitchen", Margaret called out.

They crossed the laundry/utility room and living room to the kitchen. Jinafire noted that their home was fairly typical of upper-middle class normie homes she had seen on television; comfortable, but not overly luxurious. Certainly not as large or opulent as the Headmistress' mansion, where Jin and her fellow exchange students reside during the school year. But Jin found Duncan's home pleasant and comfortable in its open-concept simplicity.

A tall woman with red-brown hair was in the kitchen, pouring charcoal briquettes into a bowl on the counter. She hugged Duncan with a smile saying, "Welcome home, Baby."

"Hi, Mom", he said returning the hug. "This is Jinafire Long. Bloodgood told her everything and assigned her to be my guide and confidant. She can be trusted. To help keep my secrets, she's been posing as my cousin among my new classmates."

Jin bowed in respect. "It is an honor to help, and to meet so noble a lady as yourself."

"I like you. You're a dragon, correct?", Margaret said with a smile, then surprised Jin by pulling her into a hug, "Thank you so much for helping us. Consider yourself family. Please, stay for dinner?"

"I would be honored. I will inform the Headmistress", she said, taking out her iCoffin.

"Where's Kenny, Mom?", Duncan asked, munching casually on a briquette.

"He called to tell me he was going to the mall with some friends he made today", she said. "He said he'd be home in plenty of time for dinner, tho."

"I'm glad I wasn't the only one to make new friends today", Duncan smiled. "What do you say we go to the backyard and talk about this training you mentioned, Jinafire?"

"Of course. Today, I can show you some basic kata forms."

"Don't forget you have homework!", Margaret called cheerfully as they went through the back door.

" **Mom!** "

xxXXxx

Kenny found that the mall was impressive for a town this size. Claire and Chad explained that it also served some of the smaller towns and suburbs nearby as well. And there was also still the 'Maul' on the monster side of town. Kenny looked forward to seeing that as well in the next few days.

Claire and Chad showed Kenny the shops that often had the best deals, as well as the food court, book shop, music store, and the electronics store with the best gear and biggest selection of video games and BluRay/DVD's.

What none of them noticed was the attractive girl with black, red-streaked hair following them on the sly. Sniffing deeply, "it's him", she thought to herself, staring intently at Kenny. Vanna Pirella had often infiltrated the normie side of town, and had smelled many tasty normies, but something was different about this new boy. His scent was almost overwhelmingly delicious.…intoxicating even. So much so, that when she first smelled it, she felt **compelled** to track down the source. She was close enough to hear that his name was Kenny. She watched him purchase a Swiss-Army knife and sit on a bench with his friends while he examined his purchase, opening the various blades and tools.

'Hmmmm…those two with him are friends of Frankie's group, so I can't let them see me', she thought .

Suddenly, Kenny cut himself; shaking his hand vigorously before sucking his cut finger. A drop of his blood struck the wall near the vampire's head, and she nearly lost control as the intoxicating scent magnified a thousand-fold. She wiped the blood off the wall with her finger and, careful not to be observed, she licked her finger…..and had a nearly orgasmic experience from the taste.

'What **is** this?! Why is this happening to me?!', she thought when her mind returned from nirvana and she practically ran from the mall. 'I **must** talk to Mother!'

xxXXxx

Clawdeen still had a secret, even after confessing her feelings for Duncan to her friends and family. Mainly because it wasn't her secret to tell. All werewolves have an acute sense of smell, but hers was exceptional even for her kind. And it told her something about Duncan; possibly one of the secret 'burdens' that Jinafire mentioned he carried….. he's half-normie. Shocking? Yes, very much so. Does it change her feelings for him? Not at all. She will keep his secret until **he** decides to reveal it. She won't even tell **him** that **she** knows.

She looked out her bedroom window, her mind drifted back to how warm and comforting his arm was when he caught her in mid-fall, his eyes, his smile….

"Hey, Sis. Penny for your thoughts?"

"Hey, Howleen. Just thinking….Hey! Is that my vest?", Clawdeen asked.

"Uh…yeah, your **old** one…that you already knew I had….so don't change the subject!", Howleen said with a sly smile. "You were thinking about **_him_** , weren't you?"

"Yeah", Clawdeen admitted with a small smile.

"So? Go for it, Clawdeen!"

Clawdeen arched an eyebrow and smirked at her younger sister. "This from the ghoul who's too scared to tell Romulus that she has a huge crush on him?"

"Wha..? W-well… um…that's diff….HEY!", Howleen sputtered, blushing furiously.

"Relax, Sis", Clawdeen chuckled. "Besides, for me and Duncan….it's a little more complicated than just 'going for it', Howleen." She looked out the window again. 'But it's worth it', she thought to herself.

xxXXxx

"I'm home!", Kenny called out. He had dropped Claire and Chad off at their homes before driving home after the mall, but he made sure that he would be home in plenty of time for dinner.

"Welcome home, Kenny", Margaret said warmly, as she gave him a quick hug. "How was your first day?"

"I can't wait to tell you and Duncan all about it over dinner", he said, smiling. "Where is he?"

"Out back, with a friend", she said, before she noticed the bandage on his finger. "What happened to your hand?"

"Don't worry, I just cut myself a little with my new pocket knife", he answered, showing the item and his finger. "I promise I'll be more careful from now on." Then he headed for the back door.

He found Duncan on the far side of the lagoon-style swimming pool, doing martial arts kata with a dragon girl; and again he was astounded by the beauty of almost every female monster he had seen thus far since moving to the area.

"Hey, Duncan."

"Kenny!", Duncan high-fived him. "Jinafire, this is my best friend and foster brother; Ken Rogers. Kenny, this is Jinafire Long." He then explained who Jin was and everything she was doing to help.

"It is a pleasure, Kenny", she said pleasantly.

"Likewise", he smirked, shaking her hand. "Any 'cousin' of Duncan's, is a cousin of mine." Then he turned to Duncan, "Sssoooo…martial arts, huh?"

"Yeah. Jin thinks it could help me with some of my….problems."

"Indeed", she said. "You are welcome to joins us for training as well, Kenny, if you wish?"

"I think I will. Thanks", he said with a smile.

"Dinner's ready!", Margaret called from the door. "I hope you'll like my spaghetti and meatballs, Jin!"

"I cannot wait to try them, Mrs. Rosenblatt."

"Please! Call me Aunt Margaret! We are 'family', after all", she said with a wink, as the teens filed past her through the door.

"With garlic bread and charcoal on the side, Mom?", Duncan chuckled, eliciting the same from everyone.

They sat down to eat, and the teens each began to regale Margaret with everything that happened during their day at school.

xxXXxx

Vanna Pirella had been waiting anxiously for her mother to awaken with the setting of the sun. Her mother often encouraged her to break the unwritten agreement to stay on the monster side of town, and she enjoyed infiltrating normie society in preparation for a time when the humans would be nothing but vampire food again. 'You must learn to blend in; to hunt and stalk your prey, my dear', she would say. Her mother remembered and preferred the old days; when vampires ruled, werewolves were enemies to be destroyed, and normies were food, slaves, or potential new vampires.

There was a bone-chilling creak, as the elegant antique coffin in front of her opened, and her mother rose. Anxious as she was to speak to her mom, Vanna respectfully remained silent, and handed her a large goblet of blood. Vera Pirella took a long sip from the goblet.

"Ah, thank you, my dear", the red & silver haired vampiress said, licking her red lips clean. "AB-, from a gourmet coffee drinker…an excellent choice to help me vake up."

"Well, it was very important that I talk to you as quickly as possible, Mother."

"Oh? Has something happened? Explain."

Vanna relayed all the events from the normie mall, Vera listened with great interest; her face registering surprise, then malevolent joy.

"Tell me, my dear daughter, vas this young man handsome? Strong? Graceful?", Vera asked with a wicked smirk.

Confused, Vanna showed her a picture she had taken with her iCoffin. "As for graceful, I'm not sure…average, I suppose…a bit clumsy when flustered."

"Vell, that can be easily fixed….", Vera said thoughtfully.

"Mother!", Vanna said anxiously, "What does all this mean? What is happening to me?!"

"My dear daughter, it means that you have a **golden** opportunity! You are a pureblood. His blood appeals to you so, because his body and soul are both pure and ripe! Plus, there is something special and unique about him that, for **you** , makes him a potential perfect mate! If you are able to perform the three stage ritual to **turn** him, not only will you yourself become more powerful, but he vill be **yours** ….. ** _forever_**! And his blood? Even after you turn him into one of us, it vill taste the same for you….for all **eternity!** "

"But, Mom! The decree against turning….?!"

"Aahh! Situations such as this are so exceptionally rare, that they are the **exception** ….the loophole, if you vill…in the law. Even the Monster Council of Royals decided it vould be wrong to deny young vampires a chance at an eternal mate in these circumstances!", Vera laughed wickedly. "Tell me, my daughter; do you **vant** him?"

Vanna remembered Kenny's intoxicating scent, and the indescribable feeling of sheer bliss that tasting just a single drop of his blood created in her…..she **had** to have **more! Forever!**

"With **all** my black heart, Mother!", she said, her malevolent grin matching her mother's.

"Then seek him out, my daughter! And take the first step towards making him yours forever! Come! I vill tell you what you must do."

xxXXxx

Margaret was relaxing after a busy evening. Duncan was giving Jinafire a ride back to her dorm at the Headmistress' mansion, and Kenny was upstairs starting his homework.

She had thoroughly enjoyed hearing how the day went for each of them. They all found it an interesting coincidence that Kenny's new friend Claire was the girlfriend of Duncan's friend Jackson. While Margaret was very glad that both had made friends already and seemed confident in their ability to fit in, a few things stuck out to her from Duncan. First, while she applauded his actions against the bullies, she was worried that he had gotten into a conflict so soon. At the same time, she felt hope concerning the girl (or 'ghoul', as they preferred to be called) that both he and Jinafire had mentioned: Clawdeen. She had not seen Duncan so flustered since he first met Jenna a year ago. Margaret truly hoped this was a positive sign. She had privately asked Jinafire about Clawdeen, and was encouraged by what she told her. Maybe….

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

A video call was coming in on her computer, and only one person had that code.

"Barnes", she said dryly when she saw his face on screen. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Now don't be that way, Margaret", he said amicably. "You know I'm just doing my job as best I can, now that I can't go undercover at his new school."

"Of course you can't; the Headmistress and the faculty don't trust MEGTAF, and most of the students don't trust humans."

"Well, we have subscribed to the school news blog, written by a 'Spectra Vondergeist', to at least get some insight there…..along with Duncan's interesting dog&pony show today", Barnes said, shaking his head with a smirk. "That kid never ceases to amaze me."

Margaret seethed a little at this blatant display of 'being nosey', but said nothing. The "Ghostly Gossip" was public knowledge social media, free to anyone who subscribed.

"You were right about my superiors not liking this new arrangement, Margaret. But you were also right in that they're overwhelmed with rebuilding MEGTAF", Barnes said with a small smile. "However, they still insist on regular contact and reports, as well as emergency contact if needed. Remember, if anything were to happen to Duncan, nobody knows his physiology better than Dr. Pytel."

"Yes, I know. And I understand", she said. "So long as they remember, neither Duncan nor I take orders from them."

Barnes nodded. "So how are things going?", he asked.

"Both Duncan and Kenny seem to be fitting in at their new schools and have made friends already. No serious problems", she answered. "Any word on the rogue kaijus?"

"Last week in the desert outside Las Vegas, we found the charred remains of one of the ones that attacked the town. It looks like Belloc is cleaning house, true to his word."

"I expected no less from him", Margaret said, fondly thinking of her kaiju mate.

"There's something else you need to know", Barnes said, then looked around to see that he was alone. "MEGTAF has become aware of some signals from deep space…signals that seem to be coming closer to Earth. And they are very similar to the signals from the comet incident several months ago."

Margaret remembered that. A comet, giving off strange almost musical signals, had streaked directly into Boo York and…..nothing happened. Instead of causing a catastrophy, it mysteriously disappeared.

"Ok, so you're picking up similar signals from deep space. What about it?", she asked.

"With some fine tuning, we discovered another similar signal, very faint, originating from somewhere in your area….almost like a beacon of some kind", he said, sounding very worried. "My superiors concede that you are **not** under MEGTAF's chain of command…..but if you happen to find or learn anything about this…..?"

" ** _If_** we do, and **_if_** it's hostile or dangerous, I will let you know", as she ended the video call.


	6. Chapter 5

**_I do not own Firebreather or Monster High, credit goes to their creators. My story occurs shortly before the character C. A. Cupid transfers from Monster High to Ever After High. The character of Jinx Hobgobbs is my OC._**

Chapter 5

Astranova levitated her books into her bag as she checked her wrist-mounted holo-computer to ensure her homework was ready to print and turn-in when she got to school, and exited her dorm room; opening and closing the door telekinetically. She levitated down the stairs to wait in the foyer for her fellow students and the Headmistress, who were currently eating breakfast in the dining room. As a cosmic being, Astranova didn't need to eat; she only required ambient light and cosmic radiation to survive, and could absorb other forms of energy as well when needed…..and the occasional beverage.

Earth had become her new home, and she was grateful to Headmistress Bloodgood for taking her into her home, and treating her like her own daughter. She missed her old home and family….even her creepy uncle; Obsidious Blackstar. She hoped that all the data she sent home about all the planets she passed before her navigation and life-support systems malfunctioned had been useful to her people in finding a new home.

Home. Planet Psion. She shed a tear. She had been sent out on her mission long ago, because Psion was dying. For all she knew, it was gone by now.

Her reverie was broken when the others entered the foyer. Abby, Lagoona, Jinafire, Skelita, Rochelle, Batsy, Marisol, and Cupid greeted her as they picked up their purses and bookbags. All of them, Astranova included, had been asking Jinafire all kinds of questions about her cousin, Duncan, ever since she got home the night before. Jinafire answered as best she could while still keeping his secrets. Astranova looked forward to meeting him. And she wasn't the only one.

Cupid, who made it her mission in life to help others find true love, had felt badly that she had failed with one of her closest friends; Clawdeen. But now, from what she had heard from Jin, Abby,and Skelita; **Fate** had intervened in a **gi-huge-ic** way!

Headmistress Bloodgood then called them outside, after mounting Nightmare in the stable and riding to the front of the mansion. They all walked to school alongside Bloodgood, while Astranova levitated. They arrived early, and went their separate ways. Skelita went to the Fashion Club room, Rochelle to the student lounge, Batsy and Marisol to the school greenhouse, Astranova to the observatory, Cupid to her broadcasting booth, Abby and Jinafire to the fountain to wait for the rest of their friends.

"Dragon cousin impresses Abby", the yeti said. "To make bully hobgoblin boy cry like little baby goat with just one hand?…Abby would like to test strength…..but in more friendly way."

"Are you sure about that, Abby?", Jinafire asked.

"Of course! Do all the time back in village", Abby grinned. "Boy yeti bigger, but girl yeti **_much_** stronger."

"Well, I'm sure if you ask, he'd be willing to arm-wrestle you", Jin smirked, interested in seeing this test of strength herself.

"Mmmhmmhm! If you're talking about that new kid—Duncan—I want in on that action, too!"

The ghouls looked up to see Manny Taur, who **had** been the strongest in school….until Abby enrolled.

"I would've taken down the Horde myself….but they avoided me and the rest of the athletes like the plague…..lousy cowards", the minotaur grumbled. "Besides, if he's going to try out for the Scream team, I'd like to know just how strong he'll be as a teammate."

"Good morning, Manny", Jin said, giggling. "I am sure Duncan will be game if asked."

"Cool", he grinned.

As more students began to arrive, Draculaura pulled into the student lot with the Wolf siblings. Howleen jumped out and ran off to find her friends Twyla and Gigi.

"Look, Duncan's here already", Clawd said with a smirk when he saw Duncan showing his bike to Deuse, Ghoulia, and Venus. He smirked wider when he saw Clawdeen blush as they walked over.

"….and all the mirrors act as solar cells as well; so along with the ones in the wheel rims and sissy-bar, I can pretty much always get a full charge easily", Duncan was saying with pride. "I also modified the hybrid engine to run on alternative fuels. The tank is full of used deep-fryer oil from the local fast-food joints that I processed into fuel!"

"So that's why it smells like French fries?", Clawdeen asked with a smirk. Duncan turned in surprise, then smiled, blushing a little.

"Y-yeah, that's right", he smirked, then they all greeted her, Clawd, and Draculaura.

"I'm extremely impressed, Duncan", Venus said. "Your motorcycle is good for the environment in every way possible!"

"Not only that", Clawd said, "but it looks totally clawsome! Like one of those custom bikes on that normie 'chopper' tv show!"

"Yeah, Dude", Deuse said. "That semi-stretched design, sleek handlebars, and flames-on-black paint job with all that chrome….it's a total work of art."

"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit….my best friend helped me, and we made similar modifications to his Jeep as well."

"Tell us about him?", Venus asked.

"Maybe some other time. I have something to do before the bell", he said. Then he looked at Clawdeen. "See you later?"

Blushing a bit, she smiled. "Yeah, I need to get my latte in the creepteria anyway."

xxXXxx

"Oh, I hear you, caller", Cupid said into her microphone. "Try taking it slow and casual first. Ask her out for coffee. Then if she accepts, just be yourself and who knows? Could be a dinner & movie date in your future."

"Th-thanks, Cupid. I-I'll try that", *click*

Cupid did what she loved and loved what she did: help and advice to the lovelorn. As the "Demi-Goddess of Love", it was her passion, and she had the empathy and compassion for it. And the school radio station gave her the perfect venue to help her fellow students, who would call in anonymously for her advice. And she often found that advice given to a caller helped others as well. It was a very fulfilling arrangement.

There was a knock on the broadcasting booth door.

"Well, there's a knock on my door; maybe some poor guy or ghoul in need but too shy to call in. Plus class will be starting soon, so I'll be back on the air later, callers", she said. Then she removed her head-phones, switched off her mic, and started the digital random music rotation for between call-in broadcasts. She opened the door…..and nearly fell over when she saw Monster High's new celebrity hero.

"Nice to meet you, Cupid. I'm Duncan Rosenblatt. And I need your help. But I need to know: can I trust you with some of my secrets?"

xxXXxx

Clawdeen and Draculaura were on their way to join their friends at the fountain after a quick stop in the creepateria to get tomato juice and Clawdeen's double chocolate coffincinno latte, when they were stopped by a familiar, oily-smooth voice.

"How are you, Draculaura? And, Clawdeen, looking ravishing as ever."

They turned to see a platinum-blonde vampire boy with almost sparkling skin. He was looking flirtatiously at Clawdeen with his red eyes.

"Thad!", Draculaura huffed. "You've got a lot of nerve even talking to us!"

Clawdeen growled. Neither of the ghouls were aware of his true nature when Draculaura had set them up to date last year. Draculaura had only known Thad as her 'cool' cousin, and Clawdeen had been taken in by his supernaturally good looks. When Clawdeen started to see him as the vain, selfish, arrogant jerk that he was, and tried to break it off; he hypnotized her into staying with him. He had only seen her as a trophy, a possession. When the full moon came around, she broke free of his spell just as he was about to 'score' with her. She told her family and friends the truth. Draculaura was horrified to learn that her cousin would do such a thing, and did nothing to protect him when the Wolf siblings all went after him with hostile intent. He managed to escape and didn't return to school for almost 2 months. He still tried to get back with Clawdeen whenever he was between relationships. Not that it did him any good…..she hated him with just cause.

"Now, don't be like that, dear cousin", he said in a saccharine tone. "We are family, after all."

"After what you did to my BFF, I never want to even **look** at you again!", Draculaura hissed.

"What? I only did what I thought I had to in order to keep my love", he said, as Clawdeen glared daggers at him and growled even louder. "Surely you can both understand **that?** "

"You have NO IDEA what **real** love is, you jerk!", Clawdeen snarled. "The **only** thing you wanted from me is somethin' you will **_never_** get!"

"Yeah! So you can just forget about Clawdeen, Thad!", Draculaura snarked. "She found someone **_for real_** …."

" **WHAT?!** ", Thad roared as his red eyes blazed and his lips curled back in a vicious snarl.

Draculaura squeaked a gasp and covered her mouth when she realized what she'd said.

" **Is this true?!** ", he demanded at Clawdeen.

"None of your fang business, Thad", she said smugly. "You and I were **over** a long time ago. I am **done** with you! **Get over it!** "

Thad hissed, and took a step forward.

"Is there a problem here, ghouls?", said a voice behind Thad, causing him to turn.

"What business is it of yours, reptile?!", Thad hissed looking up slightly at the intruder.

Duncan growled deep in his throat. "I'm making it my business, 'Sparkles'."

"No problem, Duncan. Thanks", Clawdeen said with a smirk. "We were just leaving to find our friends. Wanna come with?"

"Totes!", Draculaura said, just before sticking her tongue out at Thad. "Our friends are waiting."

"Sure. I think they said they were headed for the fountain", Duncan said, as Clawdeen wrapped her arm around his. They walked away with Draculaura in tow. Thad seethed, eyes widening in disbelief, and followed from a distance.

They reached the fountain and were talking with Frankie and their other friends. Thad watched from the school entrance, and he was furious! How **_dare_** some…some… **LIZARD** come between him and what was rightfully **_his?!_**

"Are you two sure about this?", Duncan asked Abby and Manny. Both nodded, smirking. "Ok, lunch would be a good time, but we'll need something **_way_** stronger than a lunch table."

"Ah! Abby havink perfect idea! Can make solid block of ice right outside!"

"Perfect!", Cleo said. "And afterwards, Duncan and Jin can just melt it away."

"And I can post the whole thing on my blog!", Spectra said gleefully.

"Let's not forget about the trip to the Maul after school, everyone", Clawdeen smirked. "Duncan needs skates and some shopping help from us experts."

The guys all rolled their eyes, knowing exactly what the ghouls had in store for Duncan; as each of them had been through it themselves. They were all talking about their Maul plans, when they were interrupted by a gentle female voice.

"Excuse me, Duncan Rosenblatt?"

The group stopped and looked at the newcomer. She was about the same height and build as Clawdeen, and wore a similar outfit; except it was red where Clawdeen's was purple, and she wore a black vest with a spiked collar, plus studded fingerless gloves. She was pretty, with pine-green skin, yellow eyes, and small lower tusks projecting slightly up from her lower jaw and had full pink lips. Her long bushy black hair was tied up into two high pig-tails.

"Yeah, that's me", he said.

"My name is Jinx Hobgobbs", she said softly, looking ashamed. "I believe you've met my brother: Torq."

The group, and other nearby students, collectively gasped.

"First let me say that I'm sorry for the actions of my brother and his delinquent friends", Jinx continued. "Please understand, that they by no means represent the Subterran community as a whole, despite their bluster. They are being severely disciplined by our elders; one of whom is our mom. Since I am also a student here, I was asked to pass along the apologies of our community to you, their victims, and the school as a whole. I myself am deeply ashamed of Torq."

Duncan and all his friends looked at each other, and nodded….Cleo grudgingly. Jinx had shown great courage and humility in taking on this responsibility.

Frankie spoke first. "Thank you, Jinx. This couldn't have been easy for you. But don't be ashamed. After all, it not your fault that your brother decided to be a bully, and paid for it in the end."

"There's more", Jinx said. "Torq and his friends have been grounded and sentenced to community service for the duration of their school suspension and detention time, and they're furious at their humiliation. I know my brother. He's gonna whip his Horde into a frenzy over their punishment, and they **will** come after you for revenge when they are off grounding. So be careful."

"Thank you for the warning, Jinx", Duncan said. "I kinda suspected they might do that, and now I know for sure."

"Good on ya, Mate", Lagoona said to Jinx with a true smile.

"You're a good ghoul, Jinx", Clawdeen said with a smile, placing a hand gently on Jinx's shoulder. "Would you like to join us for a Maul crawl after school today? We'd love to have you."

"Really?", Jinx said hopefully, her face brightening.

"Yup! It'll be voltageous!", Frankie said, her bolts sparking.

"I'd love to! Thanks!", she said. Then she looked up at the school entrance and saw Thad. A dreamy/lusty look formed on her face, "Mm-Hmm!"

"You ok, Jinx?", Clawdeen asked. Then she looked where Jinx was looking, and she saw Thad turn and disappear into the school. "You gotta be kiddin' me, ghoul! You got a thing for Thad?! Are you aware of what kind of jerk he is?"

"Please don't misunderstand", Jinx said. "I know all about him, and the things he's done…..I do subscribe to the 'Ghostly Gossip', after all. You see, I have no worry of 'being used' as you would put it. In the Subterran community; goblins, orcs, ogres, trolls, and hobgoblins….we don't have what you would consider 'traditional' families or mating customs. Families are made up of mothers and children, without fathers involved. All males in the community help raise the children, and anyone of age can be intimate with any willing partner at any time as long as said partner is also of age. Most outsiders consider our customs to be 'promiscuous' by their standards."

The whole group found this interesting and rather surprising.

"It's only recently that our community has begun mingling more with the greater monster community and the normies, so it's possible that some of us-like me-will be attracted to partners outside of our community", she said, a lusty look in her eye. "And there is **_nothing_** I'd like better than to get that yummy, sparkly vampire alone in a dark room!"

"Guys and Ghouls, huddle up!", Clawdeen said with a wicked smile. "You too, Jinx! We're gonna help you out! That is, if you're ok with it also getting me a little pay-back?"

"I got no problem with that", Jinx grinned.

xxXXxx

At lunchtime their whole group of friends, including the hybrids, all rushed to finish their lunches to make sure they had enough time before their first afternoon class. They gathered outside, near the student parking lot. Manny's petite cyclops ghoulfriend, Iris, also came to watch.

"There", Abby said as she finished the ice block. "All ready for arm wrestlink!"

"Mmhmhm. Mind if I go first, Abby? Seeing as how we already know you're stronger than me?"

"Sure, vhy not?", the yeti smirked, remembering the shocked look on his bovine face when she had beaten him in a similar contest not long after she first enrolled at Monster High.

"Good luck, Sweetie!", Iris said, giving her 'mighty minotaur' a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Babe", he said with a smile. "Let's do this, Duncan!"

"Ok, you got it", Duncan replied, as they took their positions and grasped hands.

Clawd had been elected referee, and placed his hand on top of theirs, "1…2…3…GO!"

Manny gave it all of his considerable strength, and gained an initial advantage as Duncan took his measure. The minotaur was strong, no doubt about it, and a little over a year ago, Duncan might have lost. But after his first 'lava-bath' courtesy of Belloc, there was no doubt in his mind he could beat Manny. But he liked the guy too much to humiliate him. So Duncan chose to make it look like more of a struggle than it was, and take about a minute or so to win. Everyone cheered them both.

"I gotta give it to ya, Duncan. You are really strong", Manny said as he shook the soreness out of his arm.

"Likewise, big guy", Duncan replied, giving him a fist-bump.

"So, are you ready for Abby?", Abby said, smirking.

"Bring it, Snow Queen", he replied, returning the smirk.

"Ok, you two", Clawd said, again placing his hand on top of theirs. "1…2…3…GO!"

Abby had him almost down before he even reacted to stop her. Manny was strong, but Abby was in a whole 'nother league! Duncan began to slowly push back to their starting position, focusing so much as to not be aware that his brow/hairline spikes and forearm ridges began to emerge as he drew on more strength from his kaiju blood. She struggled to push back to no avail, merely slowing him, both of them grunting with effort. Until, with a final surge, he slammed her wrist down hard enough to crack the ice block beneath them. Duncan was impressed. Abby had forced him to use nearly 2/3 of his non-enraged strength to beat her. Again, everyone cheered for them both, and congratulated Duncan for his win.

Breathing a bit heavy and rubbing her sore arm, Abby looked at Duncan with true respect.

"Abby is very impressed", she said between breaths. "Have never lost at this game before."

"Well, it wasn't easy, Abby", Duncan said with respect and a smile. "Guy or ghoul, I've never met anyone with strength like yours before."

Abby returned his smile as she shook his hand. He and Jinafire then used their fire-breaths to melt the ice block just before the bell rang to head for class.

xxXXxx


	7. Chapter 6: Secrets Revealed

Chapter 6

"Hey, Kenny! Wait up!"

Kenny was about to back out the parking space, when he heard Chad call out to him. He stopped and waited for him and Claire to run up and toss their backpacks in the Jeep.

"Whatta you say we go to the monster mall today, Kenny?", Claire suggested. "Unless you have to head home right away?"

"Sounds good to me. Just tell me where to go", Kenny said with a smile.

"When we get there, stick with us", she said. "They know us, but might be suspicious of you at first, since you're new. But I'm sure that any of our friends that we might run into will be cool with you."

"No problem", he said, as Claire then began to guide him to their destination.

xxXXxx

Duncan looked to his fellow guys with pleading eyes, as the ghouls were all cycling him through various outfits to try on. They all smirked and gave him a look that seemed to say, 'we all went through it, buddy, consider this your initiation'. Not that he wasn't grateful to a degree. He had found several shirts, a red hoodie, and a really nice black leather vest that looked like a sleeveless biker jacket; all in a store for monsters with wings.

The guys let the ghouls torture Duncan just a little longer, then Clawd decided to have a little mercy, and suggested that the group head to the food court and get something at the Coffin Bean.

"I could use a coffee!" Duncan agreed quickly, then mouthed 'thank you' to Clawd, who smirked.

At the Coffin Bean, as the others placed their orders, Duncan was undecided.

"If you like chocolate", Clawdeen said next to him, "you can't go wrong with a double chocolate coffincino latte."

"You know, I think I'll try that", he said smiling. "Thanks."

Clawdeen smiled and blushed, as they both ordered the same drink and sat together, the others smiled knowingly. She wasn't kidding! It was delicious!

"Oh, sweet movie marathon", he said. "I could drink at least two of these a day, every day, for the rest of my life!"

"I know, right?", she smirked. "I knew you would like it. You put chocolate syrup in your coffee at home, don't you?"

"How did you….?"

"I could smell it on you", she said with pride, tapping her nose.

When they finished their drinks and snacks, the group headed towards the sporting goods store. On the way, they saw and heard a commotion up ahead.

"What are you doin' here, normie?", Manny Taur's voice was clearly heard even at this distance.

"Hey-hey! Easy, big guy! I don't want any trouble", a familiar voice replied.

It couldn't be! **_Kenny?!_** Duncan broke into a run!

xxXXxx

Kenny decided that the monster "Maul" was **_way_** cooler than the other mall; a lot of similar stores and stuff plus a lot of really cool stuff that wasn't. He did get some stares and attitude from some of the monsters, but as long as he stuck close to the fairly well-known Claire and Chad, it wasn't so bad…

Until he turned a corner and bumped into a minotaur.

"Sorry, dude, my bad", Kenny said politely.

"It's cool…", Manny started to say, then got a good look at Kenny. "What are you doin' here, normie?"

"Hey-hey! Easy, big guy! I don't want any trouble", Kenny said, taking a few steps back.

"Chill, Manny!", Claire said, as she and Chad stepped up. "He's ok, he's with us."

"You two I know, but I don't know this kid!", Manny said suspiciously. "Who are you, normie?", as he took a step towards Kenny, causing him to step back; tripping over his own feet and landing on the floor.

Duncan suddenly skidded to a halt between Manny and Kenny, and seeing Kenny on the floor, glared at the minotaur.

"Back off, Manny! What did you do to him?", Duncan growled, as the guys and ghouls caught up.

"Duncan?!", Kenny said from the floor, surprised. "Chill, I'm ok. I just tripped, he didn't touch me."

"Whoa, take it easy", Manny said. "You know this normie, Duncan?"

"Of course I know him! He's my foster brother!"

A collective gasp of surprise came from all around, followed by murmurs, while Frankie helped Kenny get up.

"Here, let me help you. Are you ok?", she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm…..o…..k….", Kenny stammered when he pushed his hair out of his eyes, and finally saw the beauty of the kind-hearted ghoul helping him up. She was wearing a blue, black and white plaid short dress with short fishnet sleeves, a black tie with a skullette pin, lightning bolt belt buckle, black&white striped high-heels, bolts on either side of her neck, and had stitched scars here and there on her body. Beautiful mint-green skin, black & white streaked hair, full ruby-red lips, but it was her eyes that made the biggest impression. Bright, friendly, innocent, kind, adventurous…. all of that danced across her different colored eyes; the right one bright blue and the left one emerald green. A small electric shock seemed to pass between them, yet caused neither of them any pain.

"Are you sure? You look a little dazed. Did you hit your head?"

"N-no, I'm fine", he said, still lost in her eyes. "y-you're just so….b-beautiful."

Frankie blushed and looked down shyly. "That's so sweet. You're kinda cute yourself. I'm Frankie Stein."

"Ken Rogers."

Meanwhile, situation had calmed, and then the questions started. Normie foster brother? How? When?

"Everybody back off and give them a minute, ok?", Clawdeen all but shouted to everyone, before turning to Duncan and whispering, "I'm here for you."

Duncan nodded in thanks and took a deep breath. "Listen…..I'll explain everything sometime soon", he said to the group, "but for now, I'll meet you all at the sporting goods store in a few minutes, ok?"

The group headed off, after most nodded, with Claire and Chad in tow. Frankie exchanged numbers with Kenny, then joined the group up ahead. Manny continued on his way, apparently to the Coffin Bean.

Duncan, Clawdeen and Kenny sat on a nearby bench.

"You ok, Bro?", Kenny asked.

"Yeah, Kenny. Go catch up with the others."

"I'll stay with him, Kenny. Don't worry", Clawdeen said. "BTW, I'm Clawdeen Wolf."

"Nice to meet you", he said, recognising the name with a small smile. "Ken Rogers. See ya in a few."

After he was gone, Duncan took a calming breath.

"Clawdeen, I need to tell you something," he said in a quiet, serious tone. "Kenny was my best friend in my old school. We lived in the desert town that got attacked by those rogue kaijus. He was orphaned in that attack. He had no other family, so my mom and I took him in and moved here."

"I can't imagine losing family like that", she said with sympathy. "It was kind of you and your mom to take him in. You went to a normie school before?"

"Yeah. I used to be able to pass for a normie with a skin condition before because….", he looked into her eyes and held her hand, "….my mom is a normie. I'm half-human, Clawdeen."

To his surprise, she smiled knowingly and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for telling me."

"You knew?! How….?"

She once again tapped her nose with pride.

"No one else knows though, don't worry. My nose seems to be better than most werewolves, so I'm the only one. But you might want to start letting our friends know though, before the rumors get outta control from that little incident a few minutes ago."

"I guess you're right", he said. "Let's catch up with the others. I still need some skates….that is **_if_** they still want me on the team?"

"They **_better!_** ", she chuckled. "You got more moves than the rest of the Scream team combined!"

xxXXxx

Kenny had just left Duncan and Clawdeen to talk, and was on his way to catch up with Claire and Chad, who were with Duncan's friends. He was about half-way there, when he was grabbed and pulled into a shadowed access hallway, and pushed up against the wall by a very attractive girl with long wavy red-streaked black hair and red eyes. She wore what could best be described as a 'casual-teen' version of the low-cut, mid-thigh length, black 'seduction' dress; on one side and a red belt with a gold bat belt buckle. Her black heels made her eye-to-eye with him.

"Hi there", she said in a husky, lust filled voice. "I'm Vanna. I've been looking for you, Kenny."

"H-how do you know me?" Kenny said nervously, having noticed the fangs behind her seductive smile.

"I first saw you at the normie mall yesterday. I **had** to find you again, to meet you. Now look into my eyes, Kenny. Look **_deeeeep_** …..", her husky voice echoed in his ears like a heartbeat, as she put her full will into her hypnotic powers. Kenny was entranced, and his whole body relaxed on his feet.

"You're scent is sssoooo….intoxicating", she said lustily. "You **will** be mine."

She kissed him on the lips, and in his entranced state, he kissed her back. She then began kissing down the left side of his neck and pulled his hoodie and t-shirt aside toward his shoulder, licking her lips in anticipation. And unable to wait any longer, she gently but passionately sank her fangs into the crook of his neck, where it met his shoulder, piercing his jugular. She had broken monster law and fed on unwilling/unwitting normies before, as well as lawful willing donors, but **this** was on an entirely new level! As his warm sweet blood gushed into her mouth and she swallowed in earnest, the taste of his blood sent her into a virtually orgasmic state of bliss on every level of her consciousness: physical, mental, emotional, even spiritual. She didn't want to stop. But she had to, lest she drain him dry and kill him without turning him. She pried herself away from his neck.

"Oh my Ra! Your blood is **_fangtastic!_** You, and your blood, will be mine forever!", she said as she went back to him. She remembered her mother's instructions, and scratched her tongue on her left fang, drawing her own blood. She then dripped a few drops onto the bite wounds on his neck, then licked them, which mostly healed them. Anyone looking casually at him would not notice the bite, but it would be seen if subjected to scrutiny. She kissed him again, deeply this time, thrusting her bleeding tongue into his mouth. Again, in his entranced state, he returned the kiss; his own tongue wrestling with hers, as some of her blood entered his system.

Breaking the kiss, she looked into his eyes again. "Mmmmm. You are **mine** now, Kenny. You will come when your mistress calls. Until then…. **forget** ", Vanna said as she faded into the shadows.

Kenny blinked. How did he get here? He stepped back out into the Maul hallway and almost crashed into Duncan and Clawdeen.

"Kenny? You ok?", Duncan asked.

"Yeah", he answered. "I guess I was lookin' for a drinking fountain or something."

"Clawdeen knows I'm half-human, Kenny", Duncan said casually, but with an intent look in his eyes. Kenny got the message: 'but she doesn't know about my other half being kaiju', and nodded.

"I know our friends will be ok with it, guys", Clawdeen assured them. "After all, Jackson is one of our best friends. And I'm sure they'll understand why you kept it to yourself up to now as well."

"Ok, but we'd rather not mention the kaiju attack for now. Ok, Clawdeen?"

"Sure, Duncan", she replied as they entered 'Shock Locker', coined as 'one stop shopping for every monster athlete'.

The store was packed with athletic shoes and equipment of every kind for every monster and normie sport there is; from casketball to spookball to SKRM to swimming and more. Kenny rejoined Claire, Chad, and Frankie near the entrance, several of the others just waited right outside the store. Clawd, Robecca, and Operetta all motioned Duncan and Clawdeen to join them down one of the aisles with a smiling ghoul with blank white eyes. She had long black hair tied back with a headband, leaving her bangs draped over her forehead, her pale blue-green skin perfectly setting off her aqua colored lips.

"The skates are down here, Duncan", Clawd said. "I'm sure Scarah(he pointed to the ghoul) can find a style that you can use."

"Nice to meet you, Scarah", Duncan said amiably as he sat down where she indicated. "Here's what you have to work with." He lifted his sandled foot and showed her his claws.

"Be-gore-ah!", she said in an Irish accent that made Duncan smile. "This **is** a challenge! Let me find your size and take a look at what we have."

Several minutes later, Scarah showed Duncan and the others a few pairs of open-toed skates; different colors and styles.

"One'a these might be just what ya need, Duncan", she said.

Duncan agreed, but decided to ask advice from Clawd and Robecca on what to look for most in 'Scream' skates.

"You want to balance comfort and durability", Clawd told him.

"While also having both the support and flexibility you need to perform", Robecca added. "I use my steam/rocket boots myself to hover-skate, but I've helped **all** our teammates find the right skates for them."

In the end, Duncan chose a pair of high-top skates made of black doomaconda snakeskin with titanium struts; strong, durable, and flexible. They were also comfortable and gave good support in all the right places. Expensive, but hopefully worth it.

"Thanks for all your help, Scarah", Duncan said as he paid her.

"Twere a pleasure ta help ya, Duncan! I loik a challenge! Come back anytime", she said as she shook his hand…..and both gasped as they seized.

*flash* Duncan meets Jenna for the first time.

*flash* Dancing with Jenna at homecoming.

*flash* Fun at a carnival with Jenna, Kenny, and Isabel.

*flash* A moonlit kiss shared by Jenna and a fully transformed Duncan.

*flash* Falling powerlines.

*flash* An explosion.

*flash* Holding Jenna's broken and bleeding body in his arms.

*flash* Jenna's last breath; "Duncan….I love you."

Duncan staggered back as if jolted by electricity, as did Scarah; who nearly collapsed.

"I-I'm s-sorry…..I didn't mean ta….", Scarah stammered, then looked at Duncan with true pity and compassion. "Oh, ya poor lad." Scarah then broke down, sobbing.

Clawdeen watched Duncan wince and clench eyes and jaw against the painful memories, and reached out to him, "Duncan?"

"I….I…I have to go!", he said suddenly as he ran out of the store, past the rest of their friends, and out of the Maul.

Kenny was confused and angry, and went to confront the sobbing Scarah, who was being comforted by Robecca and Operetta.

"What did you do to him?!", he demanded.

"Easy, Kenny", Frankie said as she gently pulled him back a bit. "It wasn't intentional. Scarah is a banshee: she sees visions of death, something she can't fully control yet. And only a truly deep tragedy would cause a reaction like this."

Realization hit Kenny like a ton of bricks: Jenna!

"Oh no", he said softly.

"Duncan has seen death, hasn't he?", Clawdeen asked gently, to which Kenny exhaled heavily.

"His girlfriend, Jenna, died in his arms this summer", he said somberly.

Clawdeen's eyes widened with deep realization and understanding, and her heart broke for Duncan. Jinafire's words from before rang true in her ears: 'When you know, you will understand'.

"Oh, Duncan, I'm so sorry", she whispered softly, before running after him.

xxXXxx

Duncan could no longer hold back the tears when he got outside. He ran to his bike, put the key in the ignition and grabbed his helmet…..then yelled in anguish. He tossed down his helmet. Clawdeen emerged from the Maul in time to see him yell, then extend his wings and take off. He was gone before she could even call out to him.

"You're not losin' me that easy, Duncan", she said to herself, strapping on his helmet. His bike controls didn't look that different from Ghoulia's scooter. "I hope I don't wreck this thing."

She followed for as long as she could see him, then followed her nose. She pulled into a house on the dividing line of the two sides of town, parked his bike, and knocked urgently on the door.

A tall normie woman answered the door with a pleasant smile. "Can I help you, young lady?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Mrs. Rosenblatt, but have you seen Duncan?", Clawdeen asked urgently. The woman first looked surprised, then worried.

"No, I haven't. But I can see you're worried, and that worries me", she said. "Come in, and explain quickly!"

Clawdeen was quickly ushered into the house, where the woman sat her down on the couch and handed her a glass of water.

"My name is 's happened to my son?", she asked as calmly as she could.

"I'm Clawdeen", she said, and saw a barely perceptible flicker in Margaret's eyes. "There was an incident with a banshee friend of mine. She accidently pulled up a vision of Duncan's memories….a vision he saw as well …..of Jenna's death."

Margaret gasped and dropped her own glass of water, and it shattered on the floor.

"Oh, my poor baby", she whispered, her eyes tearing up as she sat down. "I've tried to get him to open up about it, so has Kenny. But he wouldn't. He just kept it bottled up inside. So much pain, it practically radiated off him in waves. Until he shoved it down so deep he fooled everyone….including himself."

"Do you know of any place he would go to be alone?", Clawdeen asked hopefully. Margaret thought for a moment.

"He has a secret place he goes to sometimes. He found it not long after we moved here, but I have no idea where it is", Margaret said.

"Just point me in the right direction", Clawdeen said urgently. "I can track him. Please?"

Margaret led her to the backyard, and pointed out into the hills beyond.

"Somewhere in the Granite Hills, just beyond our property line", she said, then pulled Clawdeen into a hug. "Please, help my son. He needs **you** ", she pleaded.

Clawdeen nodded to her, and dashed off, following Duncan's scent into the hills.

xxXXxx

Duncan entered his secret cave, quickly used a fireball to lit a fire in the firepit. Then, tears streaming down his face, he blasted multiple boulders with fireballs. He shattered more with his fists. Threw car-sized rocks across the vast cavern, shattering stalactites and stalagmites. After keeping this up for nearly twenty minutes he fell to his knees, sucked in a deep breath, and unleashed a primal roar of anguish from the depths of his soul…..then sat there….slumped…..breathing heavily.

"Duncan?"

He looked to the entrance of the cave, and could've sworn it was Jenna walking toward him. Then the image of his mind's eye resolved into the reality of Clawdeen stopping in front of him, holding out her hand. He took it, and she helped pull him to his feet, put an arm around him and walked him to the tree trunk he had long ago placed by the firepit. He sat down, and she beside him. They were silent for long minutes, and she took his hand in hers.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Duncan", she said, her voice filled with compassion and sympathy. "I can't possibly imagine the pain you feel. But if you want to talk about it…I'm here for you."

He nodded, but remained silent a bit longer. Then he took a deep breath.

"I met her my first day at that school. Student Council, Chairperson of the Homecoming Committee, most popular girl in school; Jenna was **that** girl", he said, with a small smile. "I secretly helped her after the money for homecoming was stolen. We went to homecoming together, our first date…. **my** first date **ever**. When she later found out I was half….monster, she was afraid at first, and rejected me. But we worked it out. We dated the rest of the school year and into the summer. But neither of us could actually tell the other how we really felt."

Clawdeen nodded, remembering when Clawd and Draculaura went through a similar phase. She lost count of how many times she told him to just tell Draculaura how much he loved her before Draculaura finally said it first.

"Then the kaijus attacked", he said, and she gasped softly. "I was doing everything I could to help, but there were too many kaijus, too many civilians, too much destruction. A busted water main partially flooded the street, I was ankle-deep in water. A kaiju smashed some powerlines, and they were falling in my direction. I would've been fried, but Jenna tackled me, knocking me out of the water. But one of the powerlines landed in a damaged gas station across the street. It exploded, blowing us a hundred feet away into a park. I was just a little banged up. But Jenna….", again he winced, and Clawdeen placed her free hand on his cheek. He looked into her eyes, and could see the deep compassion there.

"She was broken and bleeding-out in my arms. I tried my best, but there was nothing I could do", his voice began to break. "She looked into my eyes, and with her last breath…..she told me she loved me. (Clawdeen gasped and her heart clenched) Then I saw the light go out in her eyes."

Then he broke down, collapsed onto Clawdeen's shoulder and sobbed, tears falling like rain as the floodgates finally opened. She hugged him tightly, her heart breaking for him. "She died before I could even tell her I loved her!", he managed between sobs.

"I'm sure she knew how you felt, Duncan", she whispered in a soothing a tone. She managed to rock them gently there as they embraced by the fire, while he finally cried out all his pain.

A half-hour later, he wiped the last of his tears from his eyes.

"Thank you, Clawdeen", he said in true gratitude. "I guess I really needed that. How did you find me?"

"Three things", she said with a grin. "Your bike, my nose, and your mom; who is a great lady in case you didn't already know."

"Why am I not surprised", he chuckled. "It's getting dark. We should probably get back to my house."

"I'm sure I can back-track our scents to your house", she said.

"I've got a better idea", he smirked. Then he picked her up bridal style, spread his wings, and carried her into the sky.


	8. Chapter 7

**_I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. This chapter includes a reprise of the song "Empire" from the Monster High feature "Boo York, Boo York", credit to the writers and singers. Readers can find a video of the song on ._**

Chapter 7

Kenny drove his Jeep home as fast as he could without getting a speeding ticket, with Jinafire along. They were both worried about Duncan and figured the one place he would eventually go was home. They pulled into the driveway, and were relieved to see Duncan's bike.

"Duncan?", Kenny called out when they rushed inside.

"He's not here, Kenny", Margaret said, looking very worried herself.

"Mom!", Kenny exclaimed without thinking. "But his bike is here?"

"Clawdeen rode it here trying to find him, too", she said. "He flew away from the Maul after what happened. I told her that he has a secret place in the hills. She went to find him."

"If **anyone** can find him, Aunt Margaret", Jin said assuredly, "it is Clawdeen."

"I hope so", she said softly. "I hope he's alright."

"Me too", Kenny said, sitting down.

Margaret made a pot of tea to calm all their nerves. As they drank, Margaret looked at Kenny with a small smile, as her eyes got a little misty. She also felt a bit guilty at such feelings coming at such a time and situation.

"That's the first time you called me 'Mom', Kenny", she said fondly.

Kenny suddenly realized she was right. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean…"

"It's ok, Kenny", she said gently. "The timing and situation may be….stressed, but I'm honored. You've been like a brother to Duncan for almost a year now, and I've felt like a kind of surrogate mother to you for a long time." She put her cup down and walked over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"I love you like you were my own son", she said, and pulled him into a hug. "I know you loved your mother, may she rest in peace, and I would never presume to replace her. But it's ok if you call me 'Mom'. Or not, it's up to you and how you feel."

Kenny didn't know what to say. Margaret had always been there for him ever since he met Duncan; in many ways being the mother figure in his life. After his dad died, Margaret and Duncan had taken him into their home and family rather than abandon him to Child Services. Duncan was like the brother Kenny never had, they did so much together, including building and modifying their vehicles. And Margaret was always there, supporting both of them.

"Thanks", he said sincerely, as he returned the hug. "I love you, too….Mom."

Jinafire was touched by the scene playing out in front of her. She smiled and began to tear up, when she heard a sound on the wind; like large wings flapping. She looked out the wide sliding glass back doors to see Duncan approaching from the air, carrying Clawdeen in his arms.

"They have returned", she told them. They rushed into the yard, as Duncan landed by the pool and gently set Clawdeen down on her feet.

"Duncan!" Margaret practically slammed into her son, embracing him in the typically tight 'mom who was worried out of her mind' hug.

"Hey, Mom. I'm sorry I worried all of you", he said, then looked at Clawdeen. "On the plus side, I feel a lot better now."

Margaret looked into his eyes, and saw that they were not so haunted as before. It was as if a huge weight had lifted from his heart. She could see there was still pain, but it was no longer festering like an open wound. She turned to Clawdeen, and embraced her tightly in gratitude.

"Thank you so much for helping my son", she said. Then softly, so only the werewolf could hear, "I can see why he has feelings for you. And I approve."

Clawdeen's eyes widened in shock; Margaret smiled warmly, and nodded knowingly. Clawdeen blushed slightly, and nodded back.

"Now, can all of you please explain what happened today?", Magaret asked the group.

"Of course, Aunt Margaret. But first, dear cousin", Jin said, emphasizing the familial titles as a hint to Margaret, "you left your purchases back at the Maul. Kenny and I brought them."

"Thanks!", he said. "I need those skates to try out for the Scream team!"

"Team? Try-outs?", Margaret said. "I'm so happy! Tell me all about it!"

"Ah, wait! First…", Duncan said with a sly smirk. "Something you'd like to tell us, Kenny?"

"Huh? What're you talkin' about?", Kenny asked.

"Come on! I saw you and her exchange phone numbers!"

"Wait! 'Her'?", Margaret asked, then smiled. "Kenny, did you meet a girl?"

"N-no! I mean yes…I mean….Auuurgh!", Kenny stammered, blushing furiously.

"That's wonderful, Kenny!", Margaret said. "Tell me about her?"

"Her name is Frankie", Jinafire said, showing Margaret a picture on her iCoffin. "She is one of my closest ghoulfriends."

"Mine, too", Clawdeen smirked. "Both them two looked starstruck! It was 'Totes aborbs' as Draculaura would say!"

"So she's a monster?", Margaret said. "Will her parents be ok with this?"

"I don't see why not. She used to date Jackson, and they were fine with him", Clawdeen said. "Plus, Frankie says they totally support monster/normie unity."

Kenny let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief.

xxXXxx

Ramses De Nile was perplexed. Had been since the previous evening after his daughter Cleo had told him and her older sister Nefera about the new boy in school, who had already proved himself a hero of sorts. She even showed them the videos from Spectra's blog. Duncan Rosenblatt. Why did that name sound so familiar? It was driving him to distraction.

A large black scorpion crawled out a crack in the wall nearby, only for Ramses' pet fire-lizard to move to attack it. At roughly the same size, the scorpion would've easily killed a normal reptile, but it's stinger couldn't pierce this lizard's armor. The fire-lizard then roasted the arachnid with a small jet of flame and proceeded to eat it.

Ramses watched the brief battle and suddenly made the connection: Rosenblatt! Belloc, King of the Kaiju! It had been rumored for years that the Kaiju King had sired an heir with a human woman as a step toward ending the Kaiju/Human War. It would appear the rumors were true! And in this, he saw opportunity.

"Nefera!", he called loudly, echoing through the massive neo-pyramid home. Several minutes later, his elder daughter arrived.

"You called, Daddy?"

"Indeed", he said. "Tell me; what do you think of this new boy that your sister told us about?"

"Well, he's ruggedly handsome and dashing, and brave for his age", she said after a few moments thought, remembering the videos her sister showed them. "If I were still in school and he were a royal or noble…"

Ramses grinned. This was just what he wanted to hear!

"My dear daughter, if what I suspect is true, he **_is_** a royal. Attending Monster High incognito, judging from what Cleo has told us about him supposedly being the cousin of her friend."

"A royal, Daddy? From what kingdom?", Nefera asked, now more interested.

"The **_richest_** of them all, my dear!"

"The Kaiju?!", Nefera gasped.

"Indeed. If we were to secure a union between you and young Prince Duncan, it would give us access to the un-tapped, unimaginable wealth of the Kaiju Kingdom! I shall have to confirm my suspicions, and there are certain royal protocols that I must follow with Belloc."

"He's no Seth Ptolemy….he might actually worth it, Daddy", she said slyly. "But I've graduated already. How exactly am I supposed to get close to him? Throwing a party every night could get tiresome."

"I seem to remember from your time as Fearleading Captain, that it afforded you certain….privileges, even after graduation?" Ramses prodded with a smirk. Nefera's eyes widened.

"Of course! I always have the option to return and **coach** the Squad at any time I choose!", she said. "Mmmmm. If you can confirm that he's worthy of me, Daddy, then he won't know what hit him! Mummy **did** teach me the art and finer points of seduction after all."

(N)- _N-n-name_

 _in the lights._

 _Livin' royal,_

 _Take a look at these beautiful diamonds._

(R)- _And they're shining._

 _And we're climbing to the top of this kingdom,_

 _Nobody can stop us._

(N)- _If having everything that I want is wrong, then I don't wanna be right_

(Both)- _Sitting high on my throne,_

 _In control, This some kind of life._

(N)- _Empire, Empire_

(R)- _Reign over everything, Take over everything._

(N)- _Empire, Empire_

(Both)- _Reign over everything, Take over everything._

(N)- _Take over the world,_

 _You and I together,_

 _Nobody can stop us, stop us._

 _Building our Empire, Empire._

(R)- _Reign over everything, Take over everything._

(N)- _Empire, Empire,_

 _Building us an Empire, yeah._

(Ramses laughing)(N)- _Empire, Empire,_

 _Building us an Empire, yeah._

 _All I_

 _Want is everything,_

 _'Cause we're Kings And Queens._

 _Why pretend to be anything less?_

 _I'm a Goddess._

(R)- _Don't be modest._

 _When we run this Kingdom_

 _It's gonna be Monstrous._

(N)- _If having everything I want is wrong_

 _Then I don't wanna be right._

(Both)- _Sitting high on my throne,_

 _In control, This some kind of life._

(N)- _Empire, Empire_

(R)- _Reign over everything, Take over everything._

(N)- _Empire, Empire_

(Both)- _Reign over everything, Take over everything._

(N)- _Take over the world,_

 _You and I together,_

 _Nobody can stop us, stop us._

 _Building our Empire, Empire._

(R)- _Reign over everything, Take over everything._

(N)- _Empire, Empire._

"Come with me, Nefera", Ramses said. He led her to a chamber that was normally off-limits to her and Cleo; his private ceremony room. "Wait here by the door, watch and listen, until I call you." He then approached a large crystal mirror hanging on the wall, and began to quietly chant. His reflection disappeared as the image began to swirl….

xxXXxx

To say Belloc was not happy would be like saying a cat would find being locked in a running shower inconvenient. He and those kaiju loyal to him had found and killed a few of those that had attacked the town where Duncan and Margaret had resided, but they had learned that the situation was more complicated. The attack was not only an attempt to kill Duncan, but also to free Abbadon and Astoroth from MEGTAF after their previous failed attempt. Astoroth was killed in the battle, forcing the others to flea Belloc's judgement and wrath. Even worse, there were many more rogues than just those from that attack, and they had all scattered to the winds to escape justice and continue plotting.

Who could be leading them? And how many kaiju have renounced their honor to take the path of betrayal, hate, and destruction? Even Leviathan, the last kaiju to challenge Belloc for the throne many decades ago, had done so honorably. The land/sea battle was long, fierce, and honorable. Belloc was impressed enough to give Leviathan dominion over all his fellow sea kaiju, answerable only to Belloc himself. But this was different. These rogues had no honor.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of tinkling crystals. He turned to a crystal formation nearby. Why was one of his fellow royals trying to contact him? He rarely spoke to any of them outside of meetings of the Monster Council of Royals, and they all knew he was **not** to be disturbed otherwise unless absolutely necessary.

With a gesture, the image of Pharaoh Ramses De Nile appeared in the crystal.

"Greetings, old friend", the mummy king said amicably. Belloc growled softly.

"I am dealing with a rather urgent matter at hand, Ramses", he rumbled. "What do you want?"

"Directly to the point as always, Belloc", Ramses smirked. "I like that. It has come to my attention that your son is attending Monster High, not far from my current home?"

Belloc growled a little louder.

"That is **not** common knowledge, 'old friend', nor do I wish it to be", the kaiju king hissed, clearly a warning.

Listening from nearby on the other end, Nefera grinned. So Duncan **is** a prince.

"Please, my friend", Ramses said. "I have no intention of drawing attention to him. I merely wish to offer my assistance should he or his mother require it…as a royal favor to **you** , my fellow king."

Belloc growled, not entirely trusting his fellow king. Ramses had a kaiju sized ego and the greedy scheming mind of a human. But while biased toward monsterkind, Ramses **did** still support peaceful coexistence so long as it did not interfere with his 'royal status'.

"Your offer is appreciated", Belloc rumbled. "If there is nothing more…?"

"Well, there is one other…small matter", Ramses began.

'I knew there would be', Belloc thought to himself.

"Your son is or soon will be of age, correct?"

"Indeed", he growled, not liking where this was going.

Ramses made a summoning gesture to his right. A beautiful tall mummy girl with long Nile-blue hair appeared at Ramses side.

"May I present my eldest daughter: Nefera. My daughter, meet Belloc, King of the Kaiju."

"Your Majesty", she said pleasantly, and bowed in respect.

'I don't have time for this', Belloc thought to himself. "What is the point of this, Ramses?"

"Your son is the first time that your kingdom can present an heir for union with another", Ramses continued. "My daughter offers herself as his bride-to-be; with your blessings, of course. A union between our kingdoms would benefit all."

"But none more than you, 'Pharaoh', correct?", Belloc grumbled, finally understanding the real reasons Ramses contacted him. "You know we kaiju do not hold with these kinds of traditions, and I will not force Duncan into—how do you say?—an 'arranged marriage'."

"Very well, Belloc", Ramses said. "But if Nefera and Prince Duncan were to meet and fall in love on their own?"

Belloc saw where this was going, and growled again. "Do as you will. But know this: Duncan has a mind, will, and heart of his own. **He** will decide his love for himself. If there were any coercion or threat to his safety or secrets", Belloc's eyes narrowed and his voice took a tone of clear threat, "I will be…. **disappointed**." He ended the communication.

Once the crystal mirror returned to normal, Ramses turned to Nefera.

"You know what to do, my daughter", he smirked.

"Of course, Daddy", she grinned.

xxXXxx

Vanna Pirella arrived home, still feeling the rush from Kenny's perfect blood. She felt tremendous! As if she could do anything! The elation, the raw **power**! And soon, Kenny would be completely hers, and she could have this for eternity.

"Vell, my daughter?"

Vanna turned to look at her mother. Vera smiled, seeing the look of absolute elation on her daughter's face, obvious proof of success.

"Oh, Mother!", she said, almost manic. "I feel like I could pluck the sun from the sky and extinguish it forever!"

"Excellent!", Vera smiled wickedly. "Tell me everything."

Vanna explained it took time to track Kenny down, as he had unexpectedly gone to the monster Maul with his normie friends. She then had to shadow him until the opportunity to get him alone finally came. Vera was pleased to hear that Vanna had followed all of her instructions to the letter.

"Vell done, Vanna! With your blood inside him, he vill slowly begin the change, vhile at the same time he vill recover enough for the next time you feed and the next phase of the ritual."

"I sssoooo wish I didn't have to wait, Mother", Vanna pouted. "His blood is sssoooo…."

"I know, my daughter. But you must, if you vant to have him and his blood forever."

"There may be a complication, Mother", Vanna said. Vera scowled.

"Indeed? Explain."

"Duncan, the new dragon boy at school?", Vanna explained, "He's Kenny's foster brother. When it appeared that Kenny was in danger, Duncan immediately rushed to defend him. He could possibly interfere."

Vera hissed. Not good. Dragons were among the few monsters that vampires truly feared, and with just cause. And one with a heroic streak was even worse.

"Vhile young Ken recovers", Vera said in a low commanding tone, "I vant you and your friends to discreetly study this 'Duncan'! I vant to know **everything!** He must **not** be allowed to interfere!"

"Yes, Mother!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: I hope everyone is enjoying my story so far! Reviews and suggestions are most welcome(no flames, please).**

 **I want to thank my GF, Gwen "Fairy-Queen" Odell and my daughter Christina for their support and help as sounding boards.**

 **And I want to thank a few fellow authors here whose work helped inspire me: Creaturemaster, Alyssa Dragonrider, and DJ Rodriguez in particular for this story. It was DJ who inspired me to use songs in my story and I will do so again in future stories as well. For any of you readers who haven't, check out his epicly awesome trilogy: "Monsters and Magic", "Monsters and Magic, Divide and Unite", and "Monsters and Magic, Burning Finale"! Some of the best reading of all my 45 years!**


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"WHAT?!", Cleo screamed across the royal breakfast feast buffet table, "You've **_got_** to be kidding me!"

"Not at all, dear sister", Nefera smirked. "I'm going to be coaching the fear-leading squad. With my help, Monster High will win the fear-leading championship again."

" **I'm** captain of the squad, Nefera!", Cleo protested. " **You** made me captain yourself when you graduated! If you think you can take it back **now** …!"

"Perish the thought, Cleo", Nefera said. "Much as I **hate** to admit it, you've been a good captain, and the squad **is** pretty good. I'll only be coaching to help give you a little more…..polish."

Cleo seethed, but it was true. When Nefera was captain, she led the fear-squad to three championships.

"Fine!", Cleo said. "But **I** decide the squad line-up, understood? I will **not** be letting Torelei back on the squad! In fact, I have someone new trying out this afternoon."

"Fine", Nefera huffed. "I'll watch and give you my opinion, but the decision is yours. See you this afternoon."

xxXXxx

"A 'welcome back' scarnival and dance?", Duncan asked.

"Yeah", Clawdeen answered. "Every year the weekend of the first week, Headmistress Bloodgood throws a scarnival and dance to welcome all the students back to school, and welcome the new students. The scarnival starts right after school tomorrow and runs until 10. Then again Saturday from noon until 7. Then the dance starts at 8."

"Yup! It's Voltageous!", Frankie said.

"Totes!", Draculaura chirped. "Clawd and I are definitely going!"

"And I already promised to take Cleo", Deuse said.

Avia looked hopefully at Neighthan, who was looking at Frankie.

"And how about you, Frankie?", Neighthan asked, with just a touch of hope.

"Hmmm? Oh! I'm thinking of asking Kenny if he wants to come", Frankie answered. Duncan smirked, Neighthan slumped, and Avia perked up. "With Holt as the DJ, you know Claire will be coming to the dance at least. So maybe Jackson will invite her to the scarnival, too."

"I guess I'll just go alone", Neighthan said in a disappointed tone, oblivious to the pained, frustrated look Avia gave him.

As the others arranged to meet at the fountain later and went their separate ways, Duncan walked with Clawdeen to the creepateria to get their before class lattes.

"So, um, Clawdeen", Duncan swallowed nervously. "Do you have a date for the weekend?"

"Are **you** asking me, Duncan?" Clawdeen asked with a coy smile, a hint of hope sparkling in her eyes.

"Y-yeah! I am", he said, smiling.

"Good! Now I don't have to ask **you!** ", she said with a giggle. "We'll meet at the scarnival entrance right after school tomorrow, ok?"

"Sure! Are you going to watch me try-out for the Scream team this afternoon?"

"Yes and no", she answered. "Jinx is trying out for the fear-leading squad today, at around the same time. But we'll be in the same area, so we'll see each other." She smiled coyly, "I'll be cheering for you."

As they walked to join their friends by the fountain, Clawdeen's mind drifted back to the night before; when Duncan carried her in his arms as they soared through the sky on his wings, her arms around his neck. How warm and safe she felt in his arms. How handsome, even heroic, he looked. She closed her eyes and affectionately leaned her head against his shoulder until, all too soon, they landed in his back yard….

"Heads up, Ghouls!", Cleo announced, breaking Clawdeen's reverie. "Nefera is coming back….to coach the Fear-Leading Squad!"

"Please tell me you're jokin', Cleo", Clawdeen groaned.

"Afraid not", Cleo steamed. "According to the rules and by-laws of the school, 'any former champion team /squad captain can return to coach a current team/squad if there is no school-hired coach'!"

Clawdeen, Draculaura, and Frankie all groaned, and Jinx gulped nervously.

"What does this mean for me trying out today?", Jinx asked.

"Don't worry about my sister, Jinx", Cleo said. "I put my foot down that I'm still in charge of who's on the squad and who tries out. Your only concern is impressing **me**."

"What's the big deal about your sister, Cleo?", Duncan asked. Cleo opened her mouth, when Clawdeen cut her off.

"Imagine an older, bitchier, more spoiled and stuck up version of Cleo, and take away all of her redeeming qualities; and you've got Nefera", she said, then turned to Cleo. "Sorry, ghoulfriend."

"I would be **so offended** right now...if it weren't true", Cleo conceded. "But I do have to give her this: she can **occasionally** be a good sister. And while she was captain before graduating, she **did** lead the squad to three championships."

"But why come back now?", Draculaura asked. "You're doing a great job, Cleo."

"She claims that she just wants to help give us more 'polish' and an edge to bring home another championship", Cleo said. "But I have a rotten feeling that there's more to it than that, because she never gave a sphinx before after she named me her successor when she graduated."

"Nefera is a real piece of work, Dude", Deuce said to Duncan. "Cleo's dad has finally backed off her relationship with me, but Nefera still gives Cleo a hard time; claiming I'm not 'good enough' to be with a De Nile."

"And she's a trouble-maker", Draculaura said. "Torelei used to be **her** sidekick until she graduated!"

Duncan growled, not liking what he was hearing at all. Then the bell rang for class.

xxXXxx

During his free period, Duncan went to see Cupid. When he first spoke to her the day before, she had assured him she could be trusted. He told her everything; about his past, about his heritage, about his pain. Even about his feelings for Clawdeen. Cupid had convinced him to go with it and start opening up to Clawdeen.

"And I did", he said. "After we ran into Kenny at the Maul, I told her that I'm half-normie. She already knew! She'd smelled it on me, but kept it to herself, and thanked me for telling her myself. And when she kissed my cheek…." The look on his face was all Cupid needed to see, and she smiled.

"But then things kinda went outta control", he said, and told her what happened later; from the vision with Scarah, the cave confession, all the way to teasing Kenny about Frankie.

"So Clawdeen helped you cleanse your soul", Cupid said, understanding.

"But this morning, after I asked her out to the scarnival and dance…."

"Wait! **You asked her out?!** "

He nodded. She squealed and hugged him, practically bouncing with joy. "That's so wonderful!"

"Then why do I feel so guilty?", he asked, a bit crestfallen. "Like I'm betraying Jenna's memory?"

"Duncan, to be lucky enough to fall in love at first sight is rare enough in this world", Cupid said. "But for it to happen **_twice?_** Do you have **any** idea how **blessed** you are? Do you think Jenna would want you to spend the rest of your life alone, mourning her? Or would she want you to be happy?"

Duncan thought about that. Cupid was right. Jenna would want him to find love again.

"Duncan, I have sources that confirm that neither you nor Clawdeen had originally planned to be in the spot where you two first—literally—ran into each other", Cupid said in a serious but smiling tone. "It was **Fate**."

"Whoa…", he whispered, as that sank in.

xxXXxx

"Not bad, Jinx", Cleo said, slightly impressed. "You didn't make any mistakes in the routine. We can help you tighten up your technique and timing."

The hobgoblin blushed and smiled.

"I agree, Cleo", Nefera said. "She has potential. **And** she looks good in the uniform."

Cleo scowled at Nefera, then smiled at Jinx while Frankie, Draculaura, and Clawdeen waited anxiously.

"Welcome to the Fear-Leading Squad, Jinx!", Cleo sang. All the ghouls cheered for their new friend and teammate.

"Great!", Neferea said, interrupting the celebration. "Now listen to me, ghouls. I know you've got the skills, or you wouldn't be here. And my dear sister Cleo is a good captain, and she is still in charge. But **I'm** here to help you train and give you the polish that will bring home the Fear-Leading championship. I've done it before, and I can help you do it again! Cleo will be the first to tell you; my training will be tough and push your limits, but I will never ask you to do more than I know you are capable of."

"Well, she talks a good coachin' game", Clawdeen whispered to the others, who giggled softly, earning a sharp look from their new 'coach'.

"But I do demand **respect** ", Nefera continued, "and will accept **nothing** less. Now, first, let's go watch who we will be cheering for, shall we? I do believe there are Scream try-outs going on across the quad."

As the Squad walked over, Duncan was making adjustments to his skates and armor. The guy Scream players mostly opted for armored uniforms; to be more physical. While the ghouls tended to wear less armor; depending more on their speed, agility, and unique powers. Robecca and Ghoulia modified a piece of back armor to accommodate his ability to grow and extend his wings. He stood when he was ready.

"Ok, Duncan", Clawd said. "We've set up a makeshift course with obstacles and a few surprises. If you can get through it easily, we'll go down to the actual school course and have you join a team practice run. Sound good?"

"Bring it on!", Duncan said gamely.

"Ok!", Clawd said, as the fear-leaders arrived to watch. "Ready…set…GO!"

Duncan took off like a shot, weaving through the pylons, dodging a heavy punching-bag swinging on a rope, jumping a row of tires, used his wings to help him on a hairpin turn, avoiding a patch of ice, back-bending under an obstacle, and skidding to a halt at the starting point. Cheers of encouragement came from his fellow players and the squad.

"Nicely done, Duncan", Clawd said. "I'd say you're ready to see if you have what it takes to take on the real course. Let's head down there, team!"

"Oh, Clawd!", Nefera called out. "You're ok if the Fear-Leading Squad comes to watch, too, right?"

"Sure, whatever, Nefera", Clawd growled, before leading the way to the Scream Maze down in the school catacombs.

"Ok. Abby, Gil, Deuse, and Rochelle? You're on the bench. Manny and Robecca? You're with me as the opposing team. Duncan? You're with Lagoona and Operetta as the home team. Remember, Scream is about speed, strategy, and team-work! The course changes randomly and the goal is to work together to get **any** member of your team across the finish line first. Ghoulia, are you tapped into the course system yet?"

"Aaheuuh", the cute zombie groaned.

"Ok, good", Clawd said. "Starting line!"

The designated players took position at the starting line, as Ghoulia finished tapping into the course cameras. Then she blew her whistle, and the players took off!

Clawd's team took an early lead. Duncan and his teammates kept close behind, as they dodged and weaved through a long hall of pillars and pop-out pillar traps. Next came a corridor of randomly firing fire-jets.

"Get close to me!", Duncan yelled. Lagoona and Operetta obeyed, and he surrounded them with his wings, enabling all three to simply barrel through the flames rather than dodge them, closing some of the gap between them and Clawd's group. The others all cheered, watching on Ghoulia's lap-top, as they continued into various tunnels and corridors of obstacles and traps.

Next was a large cavern with a narrow bridge across water…and the tentacles of an orange Kraken. Clawd, Manny, and Robecca had to dodge, weave and help each other past them.

"Get behind me!", Duncan called. The ghouls looked puzzled, but obeyed. Duncan took a deep breath, and exhaled a moderately large blast of fire. This forced the tentacles to withdraw beneath the surface, allowing them to cross unhindered, closing the gap further. Both groups hit the spiral-table elevator of the course at the same time; circling the central post as they were lifted to a random higher level, then sped into the pipeline-like tunnels, where the ghouls excelled with their speed and maneuverability.

Clawd and Manny attempted to use themselves and any obstacles to block their opponents, the intent to let Robecca hold the lead and take the win. The ghouls each took a side, while Duncan barreled up the middle, trying to knock the guys off-balance. Manny went down, but Clawd was able to trip up Lagoona.

Clawd then focused on catching Operetta before she could reach Robecca, until he felt Duncan coming up behind him. They jostled against each other; jockeying for position. Clawd's experience gave him the edge, but it wasn't easy. He managed to squeeze ahead of Duncan and block him….until he somersaulted over the werewolf! Then Duncan used his wings to increase his speed in the straight-away to catch up with Operetta, who was catching up to Robecca. The finish-line was in sight as Duncan caught up to his teammate. He remembered some of the plays from the videos they'd shown him.

"Operetta! Whiplash!", he called out. She nodded and grasped his hands, as they spun together to gain momentum, then he launched her toward Robecca and the finish-line. They crossed simultaneously, it was too close to call.

The Fear-Leading Squad and the Scream team members all cheered and congratulated their teammates and Duncan as they gathered at the team bench.

"That was clawsome, Duncan!", Clawd said as Ghoulia showed them the video. "You took your own powers into account in your strategy! And you did it on the fly! Plus you showed an ability to take the lead and help your team."

"Not ta mention ya pulled off that Whiplash with me just from watchin' it before, Sugah!", Operetta said. "Took us at least a week of practice ta git it right last year!"

"So what do we think, Team?", Clawd asked.

"Abby is only alternate", the yeti said, "but da, please to join team."

"Dude", Deuse said, fist-bumping Duncan, "I knew you'd be clawsome."

"Good on ya, mate", Lagoona smirked.

"Aw, yeah!", Manny grunted.

Gil gave a 'thumbs-up'.

"Oui, mon ami", Rochelle said.

Operetta nodded.

"As co-captain",Robecca said, "I say 'yes'."

"That makes it unanimous", Clawd smirked. "Welcome to the school Scream Team, Duncan; the Monster High Nightmares!"

Everyone cheered and started to gather around him. Clawdeen was about to hug him with her pom-poms, only to suddenly find Nefera in her way.

"Hi there, Duncan", she said with a wink. "I'm Nefera. You've got talent! And we can never have too much talent on the school teams. As the new fear-leading coach, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Clawdeen and Duncan both growled.

xxXXxx


	10. Chapter 9

**_Hey, Everyone! As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High, nor Danny Phantom(who is mentioned in this chapter, but does not appear); credit goes to the creators of these awesome characters. The scarnival scene is inspired by a similar scene written by Creaturemaster in his epic "We Are Monsters"!_**

Chapter 9

Cleo was livid. After that blatant display after try-outs, she was convinced that Nefera had decided to coach the fear-leading squad just as an excuse to meet Duncan! But why? What was her sister scheming? Luckily, Nefera was oblivious to Cleo and the squad holding Clawdeen back from tearing her apart while she flirted with Duncan. The squad and the Scream team all went to change in the locker-rooms.

"So", Frankie said, "when should we tell our 'coach' that she's already **way** too late to the party when it comes to Duncan?"

"Why didn't you just let me unwrap that mummy bitch?!", Clawdeen almost shouted. "No offence, Cleo."

"None taken", Cleo sighed. "I stopped you because she **is** my sister."

"And **we** stopped you so you wouldn't get in trouble", Draculaura said.

"If it helps, mate", Lagoona said, "it was pretty obvious that he wasn't interested."

"Y'all got that right, Sugah", Operetta laughed. "He looked like he'd rather kiss a pig in a mud-hole than give her the time a' day!"

"That's right, luv", Robecca said. "He's just too polite to be rude to a ghoul."

Clawdeen knew they were right and relaxed a bit. Cleo got a sly look in her eyes.

"You know, Clawdeen", she smirked, "you've been getting more and more…..territorial about Duncan since you met him. Every time you even **hear** that another ghoul is interested in him you act all jealous. Is there something going on that you'd like to share? Hmm? I mean, it's not like you two are dating or…"

Clawdeen tried desperately to hide her blush and smile, but it was waaaay too late.

"EEEEEEEEEE!", Draculaura squealed. "Please, please, please just **tell** us, Clawdeen?!"

There was no escape and no denying. It was obvious, she was surrounded by her ghoulfriends, and she suddenly felt that if she didn't tell she would just burst!

"Ok-ok! This morning, Duncan asked me to the scarnival and dance this weekend!", she said with a wide smile. "I was gonna ask **him** , but he beat me to it! He was so nervous when he asked me it was 'Totes adorbs' as you would say, Draculaura!"

The locker-room practically exploded with cheers and congratulations for the werewolf.

"Oh! That reminds me!", Frankie said as she pulled out her iCoffin and tapped out a text message.

xxXXxx

Kenny was just hanging out at Chad's house with him and Claire, when his phone beeped the text alert. He read it, and couldn't hide a goofy grin.

"Ok, spill it, Kenny", Claire said, deadpan. "Cuz you look a little **too** happy over there."

"Frankie just invited me to a 'scarnival' after school tomorrow", he said, still with a goofy grin.

"Oh yeah", she said. "I'm meeting Jackson there as well. A monster carnival; it's gonna be awesome!"

"Do you think Jinafire will be there?", Chad asked hopefully.

Claire and Kenny both stared at him in mild surprise. Claire **thought** that Chad had been rather attentive to the dragon-ghoul when they met her last nite. He was apparently smitten with her, and she seems nice enough. Claire smiled a small smile. 'Good for him', she thought to herself.

"I don't see why she wouldn't be, Chad", she said, then turned back to Kenny. "What do you say, Kenny? Think you could give us a ride there, too?"

"Sure! I'll just text Frankie back", he said as he tapped out the text.

"So you and Frankie, huh, Kenny?", Claire smirked, and Kenny blushed. "Good for you! She's a sweet ghoul."

Kenny grinned and ran his hand nervously through his messy dark brown hair.

"Oh! Guys, we're having a cook-out at my house on Sunday. My mom wants to meet all of my and Duncan's friends and their parents. Think you can come?"

"That's cool, Kenny", Chad said, then sadly, "I can come, but my parents; while ok with me having monster friends, would rather keep a peaceful distance themselves."

"My folks are cool, though. We can bring Chad with us", Claire said. "Think the cook-out could use more soda? My dad works for the local distributor and can get a bunch of cases cheap."

"Awesome!", Kenny said.

xxXXxx

Frankie smiled at the text on her iCoffin as she and the ghouls left the locker-room, a fact that did not go un-noticed by her ghoulfriends as they met up with the guys.

"Good news, Frankie?", Lagoona asked. The mention of news made Spectra look up from posting the article for her blog about Duncan joining the Scream team and Nefera coaching the fear-leading squad.

"Kenny's coming to the scarnival", Frankie smiled. "And he's bringing Claire and Chad with him."

"That's great!", Draculaura said. "The more, the scarier!"

Jackson smiled and sighed at the thought of seeing Claire. He would have to thank Kenny for giving her a ride. Walking through the catacombs would've meant less time together.

Duncan smirked, and not just about Kenny and Frankie. At the Maul he had noticed Chad chatting up Jinafire quite a bit, even asking if he could join the martial arts training sessions whenever he could. She and most of the others didn't seem to notice, but seemed fairly obvious to Duncan that Chad was attracted to Jin. Should he talk to her about this? No, let it play out a little more for now. Besides he needed to ask her….

"About our training, Jin?", he asked.

"Yes, of course", she said, knowing scheduling was more complicated now.

"Clawd, what is the practice schedule for the team?", Duncan asked.

"Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays; after school until 4:30 pm", the captain explained. "Thursdays off, games usually on Friday nights. Our first game is next Friday; against Vampire Prep."

"Well then, Duncan", Jinafire said. "We can train at your house on the weekends and evenings that you do not have practice or a game. We can also train during free periods here at school whenever you like. And", she smiled slyly, "we can always adjust the schedule for….other activities or plans that come up."

He and Clawdeen both blushed, while the ghouls giggled and the guys smirked.

"Aaaand on that note, everyone", Duncan said. "Now that my half-normie secret is 'out', my mom wants me to invite all of you over for a cook-out late Sunday afternoon, and asks that you invite your parents as well. I've already invited the Headmistress. She'll pass the invitation to the rest of the ghouls staying with her."

"Something up, Duncan?", Clawdeen asked.

"Nah. She just wants to meet everyone and get to know my friends and their parents", Duncan said. "I guess she also wants to show them that there **are** normies like her out there. Kenny, Mom, and I will all be taking turns at the grill, and we've got plenty of burgers, brats, and chicken to feed everyone, plus more different kinds of chips than you can shake a stick at; but we welcome different dishes and drinks as well from anyone who wants to bring them."

"I will be honored to take a turn at the grill as well, dear cousin", Jinafire said warmly.

"You had me and my family as soon as you said 'burgers', Duncan! Right, Clawd?" Clawdeen smirked, and her brother almost drooled. "And our Mom makes a **killer** s-creamy mac- &-cheese!"

"Count on me for the garden salad!", Draculaura piped up. "But my Dad won't be able to join us until after sunset."

"I'm sure Daddy will bring one of the finest wines from our cellar for all the parents", Cleo said with confidence. "And I'll bring some fruit from our gardens and orchards."

"Can rely on Abby to have plenty of ice", the Russian yeti smirked, frosting up her hand.

"Which will combine **great** with the super-charged blender my folks and I will bring!", Frankie said excitedly, her bolts sparking. "Mmmm….fruit smoothies!"

"I think I can convince Headmistress Bloodgood to let us stop at a place I know that has awesome fresh seafood on the way to your house, mate", Lagoona said.

"I make a potato salad that will knock your socks off ", Jinx said. "But I don't think my Mom will be able to come with me. She's the one overseeing my brother Torq and his buddies this weekend."

"And what's tater-salad without Southern barbeque baked beans, Sugah?", Operetta smirked, getting a fist-bump from Jinx.

"Dude, I bet I can get my mom to make and bring some of her special baklava", Deuce said. "Her recipe is like a **thousand** years old and still fangtastic!"

The others all accepted, and agreed to spread the word to the rest of their close friends and parents.

xxXXxx

The next day, all the students spent the day stealing looks out the windows to watch the scarnival setting up; many spending their free periods and lunch watching from outside. The rides had started getting set-up before the sun even came up and were ready by lunch time, leaving the many food trollies and game booths to set-up and get ready, as well as many local merchants and crafters. The scarnival filled virtually the whole parade field between the school and the road to Gloom Beach.

"Yup", Howleen said. "My big sis has an actual date!"

"I never thought I'd see the day", Twyla said. "Especially after what Thad tried to do to her last year."

"At least Duncan is nice and really seems to care about her", Gigi commented.

"Yeah, he really is", Howleen replied. Then she looked longingly over at Romulus, who was talking with his friends. And Clawdeen's playful jibe from the other night came right back to her. She took a deep breath, "I'm gonna do it."

"Do what?", Twyla and Gigi both asked at once. Then they realized, as they watched their friend march right over to the werewolf she's had a crush on forever.

"Go for it, Howleen!", Twyla whispered, as Gigi covered her own smile with both hands.

"Have you got a minute, Romulus?", she asked the brown/grey werewolf, a childhood-friend of her older brother, Clawd.

"Sure, Howleen", he answered. "Be right back, guys."

"I don't know what I'm doing, so I'm just gonna come out and say it", she said when they were a short distance away. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I-really-like-you-I've-liked-you-for-a-long-time-will-you-go-out-with-me?"

Romulus looked in shock at the pink-haired younger sister of his good friend. Granted, he was almost two years older than her, and had known her since they were both little; but he also had always found her cute and, later, attractive. He just always thought she was out of reach. Her voice broke him out of his daze.

"Umm, Romulus?", she said, an almost pleading look in her eyes.

"S-sure, Howleen", he said, smiling. "As long as your family doesn't kill me, I'd love to go out with you. And, imagine that, there's a scarnival right outside after school. Will you be my date?"

Howleen squealed happily, then jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. When she was back on the floor, she let out a howl of joy.

"Whoa! Sounds like my sister is really happy about somethin'. I'd know that howl anywhere", Clawdeen said, hearing it from the other side of school.

"You can say that again", said Twyla, as she materialized out of a nearby shadow, a smile on her normally depressed face.

"Why? What's up, Twyla?", asked Draculaura.

"She did it! She **finally** told Romulus how she felt and asked him out! He's taking her to the scarnival!"

"What?! No way!", Clawdeen exclaimed. She was torn between pride in her little sister and being miffed at Romulus due to the age difference. Then she remembered other similar couples at school, and cooled off a bit. It was then that Gigi 'poofed' into existence next to them.

"It was **you** who inspired her to take the plunge, Clawdeen", the genie smirked.

"Well, I guess I'm proud of her. But if he hurts her, I'll kill him slowly and painfully", Clawdeen said with a wry smile.

"Come on, ghouls!",Frankie said as they entered Home Ick class. "Just one more class until the fun begins!"

xxXXxx

The final bell rang, and all the students were rushing. Duncan was dumping all his stuff in his locker, looking forward to meeting Clawdeen and all their friends for the scarnival. Except for a few students the halls were mostly clear, and he was so preoccupied that he almost didn't see Amanita before almost crashing to her.

"Hi, Duncan", she cooed sweetly, with a smokey look in her eyes.

"Hey, Amanita", he said dryly. "I'm meeting my friends for the scarnival. Aren't you going?"

"No way!", she scoffed. "Mingling with the masses at such a gauche event is **beneath** me." She looked lustily into his eyes and traced a finger across his collarbone, "It's beneath **you** , too. How about you walk through the school greenhouse with me instead?"

Duncan caught a whiff of the alluringly sweet smell again, but he was ready this time. He exhaled a small burst of fire, igniting the cloud of pollen in the air, burning it up instantly with a small "pop" sound. It drove Amanita back a few steps in surprise.

"I don't think so, Amanita!", he growled, then smirked, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Clawdeen."

He walked away, heading for the entrance of the scarnival to meet Clawdeen and the others. He grinned when he heard Amanita screech in frustration behind him.

xxXXxx

When Duncan met up with everyone, Clawdeen wrapped her arm around his with a mutual smile. Everyone waited another fifteen minutes until Kenny arrived with Chad and Claire. Claire and Jackson embraced and shared a kiss, while Kenny approached Frankie with a nervous smile.

"H-hey, Frankie", he said, blushing. "You look great."

"Aw, thanks, Kenny", she said, taking his hand in hers. "You, too."

"Yes, yes", Cleo said a bit impatiently, wrapped in Deuses' arms. "Now that we're all here, shall we go in? The rest of the school has a head-start on us."

As they entered and took in the scarnival, Duncan felt a level of comraderie that he had never felt before. Having spent most of his life as an outcast with few friends wherever he went, he couldn't help but feel….whole, at last. He had made so many friends here in just this first week, and he was now a member of arguably the most important sports team in school. And some of his new friends were hybrids like him! He was smiling like he never had before.

"You look happy, Duncan", Clawdeen said with a smile of her own.

"For the first time in my life, Clawdeen, I feel like I belong", he said wistfully. "Up to now, I felt so… alone. Until now, the only time I ever met anyone remotely like me was a half-ghost: Danny Phantom."

Spectra and Operetta both gasped in shock.

"You know King Phantom?!", Spectra asked.

"Yeah, I do", he smirked. "And I'll tell you the story sometime. But for now, let's just have fun!"

The group went from ride to ride for a while: the scary-go-round, the bumper cars, the swinging pirate ship, the hall of mirrors, and various rides that would spin, swing, dip, launch, and/or go backwards. A quick snack of cotton candy or funnel cake, and on to more rides as well as games. All along the way the group had been thinning as individuals and couples would split off on their own. After Gil won Lagoona a live tropical fish, they went off alone; leaving just Duncan and Clawdeen along with Kenny and Frankie. They got dinner at a French Fries stand, each couple ordering a large chili-cheese fries.

After eating, Kenny spoke to the guys in the stand, and came back with a smile.

"Good news!", he said. "Not only will they deliver their used oil to our house on their way out of town Sunday morning, but they'll get all the other food vendors here to do the same!"

"Awesome, Kenny! More fuel for us!", Duncan said.

"Plus", Kenny said slyly, "because they usually get gouged big-time for disposal by the locals wherever they go, they're not only going to pay us to take it, but they'll also give us and our dates **free food all day tomorrow!** "

"Sweet!", Duncan said, high-fiving Kenny.

Clawdeen and Frankie just smiled and shared a look, rolling their eyes as if to say, 'boys'.

As they walked, both couples came across a game with posters as prizes for throwing cheap darts at tiny targets. Duncan and Kenny grinned at each other, they were hoping for a booth like this!

The werewolf proprietor barked cheerfully, "Come on, boys! Step right up and win some posters for the ladies!"

"Ghouls, start picking out posters you want!", Kenny said.

"Are you guys sure about this?", Frankie asked.

"What she said", Clawdeen agreed. "I mean, those cheap darts look kinda crooked."

"Who said anything about using **these** darts?", Duncan smirked after the boys paid for two rounds of three darts. They both then reached into their jackets and each pulled out a case, which the girls and the game guy looked curiously. They opened to reveal sets of professional competition grade darts. The game guy groaned. To deny them using those darts after they already paid would be tatamount to admitting his game was rigged!

Duncan and Kenny threw all their darts, easily hitting the small targets; six hits=six posters. Frankie picked hers, and Clawdeen only saw two that she didn't already have and told Duncan to pick one for himself.

"Catty Noir, huh?", Clawdeen said when he made his choice. "Great singer; queen of the love songs, and a good friend. I didn't know you liked her music."

"It's a recent development", he said.

"Oh", she smirked. "How recent?"

He looked into her eyes, falling in, getting lost…..

"The last few days", he said softly. She blushed furiously, getting his meaning.

"Hey, dragon-boy! Step up and win a plushy dragon for your ghoul!" a gargoyle called out from a nearby booth. It appeared to be a typical ball vs stacked bottles game where the bottles were made of heavy plaster to make it harder. Clawdeen stepped up herself.

"I got this!", she said, paying and picking up the first of three baseballs. She missed the first, but hit dead on with the second. However, the bottles barely moved and remained standing.

"No way!", she said. The ball rolled back to her, and she smelled something. She picked it up and took a deep sniff.

"Those bottles are made of **concrete** , you cheat!", she snarled. Then she felt a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Allow me", Duncan smirked as he took the ball for the third and final throw. As he wound up, he ignited the ball with his breath. He chucked it hard and fast at the target. The concrete bottles weren't just knocked over, they were shattered on impact!

"One plushy dragon for the lady, good sir", he said as they all smiled smugly. "Take your pick, Clawdeen."

As she picked out a red-orange stuffed dragon, the gargoyle grumbled under his breath about firebreathing teens being bad for business.

"Start running this game square", Duncan told him in a warning tone. "Unless you want a repeat performance."

As they walked away, Duncan and Clawdeen suddenly realized Kenny and Frankie were gone…they were alone together.

"All according to plan", Frankie smirked, hidden behind another game booth.

"Plan?", Kenny asked.

"The ghouls and I worked it all out as soon as we heard!", she said with a bit of mischief. "This is their first date! And it won't be a complete success unless they **kiss**!"

Kenny could get on board with that. Then a thought occurred to him.

"You know", he said, blushing. "This is kind of… **our** first date, too."

Frankie blushed furiously when that sank in.

"Kenny, do you want to kiss me?"

"Ever since I first laid eyes on you", he admitted. "But I was afraid you didn't…."

Before he could finish, she leaned in and gently pressed her lips to his. It felt amazing to both of them. They broke the kiss after a few seconds and looked into each other's eyes. Then they kissed again, deeper and more passionately. She ran her hands through his hair to crush her lips to his, while he snaked his arms around her waist and ran his hands up her back. Only the need for air made them break the kiss again.

"W-will you be my ghoulfriend, Frankie?", Kenny asked.

"Oh, Kenny!", she answered, thrilled. "Yes! Yes, I will!"

"Congratulations, you two!"

Surprised, they looked over to see Cupid smiling and holding her hands over her heart. "I could feel the love burning in you two from across the scarnival! I'm so happy for you!"

xxXXxx

As the scarnival closed down for the night, the guys and ghouls regrouped to head to their various homes.

"I'll be by to train with you and the guys soon, Jin", Chad said with a sheepish grin, just before she joined the other dorm-ghouls to head back the Headmistress' mansion.

"Very good, Chad", she said, still not understanding why he was so attentive to her. "See you soon."

"Duncan, I'm gonna drive Claire, Chad, and Frankie home", Kenny said. "See you at home?"

"Sure", Duncan answered, while Claire kissed Jackson goodbye.

"Clawd, Duncan will bring me home. So you and Draculaura can have some time alone", Clawdeen winked.

"You're such a good friend, Clawdeen!", Draculaura said with a big smile as she and Clawd got into her car.

Clawdeen and Duncan put their prizes in the saddle-bags of his bike, when she suddenly realized something.

"We didn't go on the scaris wheel!", she pouted. "You can't go to a scarnival and not go on the scaris wheel!"

"You're right", he said with a wicked grin. He picked her up bridal style, then grew and extended his wings. He flew them to the top of the scaris wheel, and they sat in the gondola together, looking at the moon and stars. A chill breeze came up, Clawdeen shivered slightly and snuggled closer to Duncan. He wrapped his arms and wings around her and willed his body temperature a bit higher. She moaned softly and relaxed into his warmth.

"Better?", he asked.

"Much", she answered. "It's a beautiful night."

"Yes, it is", he said warmly. "But it's not half as beautiful as you."

Clawdeen looked up into Duncan's eyes, and reached one hand up to his face. They got lost in each other's eyes for a few moments. Then he bent down to kiss her lips gently, and that slow kiss turned into many small kisses. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and he his around her waist, pulling them into a deeper kiss as they savored the amazing feeling. Their tongues explored each other's mouths; and unwittingly scratched them on each other's fangs, drawing a few drops of blood. Their passion was building, as she pressed her body against his, her sizable breasts crushed into his chest, her hips grinding into his. Her feral nature pushing her to assert dominance as their tongues dueled, feeling at first that she was succeeding, until she realized that his tongue was keeping pace, guiding hers in a way that he could actually dominate her if he chose, but instead he treated her as an equal. She found that she liked it. Very much so, in fact.

Meanwhile, he slowly slid his right hand up her back toward her head, and his left down toward her shapely ass. He ran his right hand through her luscious locks until his fingertips reached the sensitive area behind her ears, and she moaned with pleasure. A moment later, his left hand reached her ass and gave it a gentle yet firm squeeze, and Clawdeen moaned even louder. The ways he was touching her while they kissed were driving her wild, as evidenced by how she was grinding her nether region against the hardening bulge in his pants.

They broke apart, breathing heavily, reigning in their passion.

"It's…ummm…getting late, Clawdeen", he stammered.

"Y-yeah, Duncan", she agreed, with a blushing smile. "You better get me home before my family freaks out or somethin' and comes lookin' for me."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes:**

 **Whew! I thinks that's the longest chapter I've done so far, but I hope you all like the payoff: THEY KISSED!**

 **Danny Phantom is the new Ghost King?! Yup, in a FirebreatherxDanny Phantom story written by Alyssa Dragonrider, and I appreciate her blessing to use that concept in my story!**

 **As always, reviews and suggestions are welcome! (no flames, please)**


	11. Chapter 10

**_Hey, everyone! As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High, the character mentioned in this chapter; "Boodika la Fey" will appear later and is my OC._**

Chapter 10

Claire and Chad first congratulated the new couple, then spent the ride in good-natured teasing of Kenny and Frankie. Desperate to change the subject, Frankie asked a question.

"Kenny, why does your Jeep smell like French fries?"

"Oh! Duncan and I turned it and his bike into solar hybrid vehicles that can run on alternative fuels", he explained. "We process used deep fryer oil from fast-food joints into fuel. It's actually cheaper than gas and way better for the environment."

"So **that's** why you were so excited after talking to the fry guys at the scarnival!", she said. "Venus probably loves that! Saving the planet is kinda what she does."

"It **is** pretty cool, Kenny", Claire said. "You two are pretty smart."

"Yup", Kenny chuckled. "He's the designer and engineer, I'm the hacker and science whiz."

"Oh! My parents are gonna **love** you!", Frankie squealed, as Chad and Claire failed miserably to stifle their snickering. "Speaking of, here's my house", she said pointing to the left.

It was a mansion, with a sign out front: **Stein Labs and Monster Medical Clinic**. It had small bank of electrical transformers beneath a lightning tower in the side yard, and a small parking area in the opposite side yard near an arrow sign for the "clinic" entrance. Despite the impeccable landscaping and relatively brightly painted exterior, Kenny still felt a faint sense of foreboding. Still, he steeled himself.

"I'll walk you to your door, Frankie", he said with more confidence than he felt.

"You're so sweet!", she smiled as they walked. At the door she fished in her purse for her keys.

"Tonite was really fun, Frankie", Kenny said. "Thanks for inviting me. Would you like to go again tomorrow….with me?"

"I'd love to, Kenny", she smiled again. They leaned in to kiss, when the door suddenly opened. Kenny found himself looking up…. **way up** …into the scowling face of Frankie's father.

"Daddy!", Frankie said nervously. "You're still up! Um…this is Kenny…my boyfriend."

"An honor to m-meet you, Dr. Stein", he said, stammering less than he thought he would. "Your work in the field of clean energy and fuels is incredible! My foster brother and I referenced your work constantly while we modified my Jeep and his bike."

Dr. Viktor Stein leaned down to look into Kenny's eyes, his face unchanged, like stone.

"A normie? And you follow my work? And that of my wife?", he face still unchanged.

"Yes, sir", Kenny said. "Not the medical stuff so much, but your scientific and technological break-thrus? Absolutely!"

Dr. Stein continued to stare Kenny down. Then a smile split his face, and he laughed good-naturedly.

"An honest scientist and well-mannered at that!", he laughed, his bolts sparking. "Rare to find these days." Kenny and Frankie released the breath they didn't realize they were holding. Still smiling, Viktor arched an eyebrow. "You **will** be good to my **only daughter** , won't you?"

"Alright, dear, you've had your fun", a feminine voice said from inside. Viktor stepped slightly aside to let his wife, Viveka, come to the door. She looked like a slightly taller, more mature version of Frankie with shorter hair and her stitches in different places. "He passed your little 'fright test', so leave him be and go to bed", she slapped his large behind as he turned to go upstairs, and her voice took a slightly naughty tone, "I'll join you in a few minutes."

" **MOM! DAD!** ", Frankie exclaimed, then face-palmed. "Ssooo embarrassing!"

"Oh hush, Frankie!", Viveka said gently to her daughter, and turned to Kenny. "I'm Dr. Viveka Stein, Kenny. And I must say you have impressed us. But, I would expect no less from a young man being raised by Margaret Rosenblatt."

"You **know** my mom?", Kenny asked.

"Yes indeed", Viveka answered. "We've known and admired her for many years, and we look forward to seeing her again at your cook-out."

Just then they heard the horn from Kenny's Jeep.

"Hate to rush you, Kenny", Chad yelled. "But we gotta get home, too. Kiss Frankie good-night and let's go."

"Yes, Kenny", Viveka snickered. "Kiss my daughter good-night!"

"Mom! Could we please have a minute?"

"Of course, dear", Viveka said, stepping away from the door.

"So", Kenny said, smiling, "see you tomorrow?"

"Pick me up at noon", Frankie smiled, as they wrapped their arms around each other. They kissed.

*flash/click*

" **Got it!** ", Viveka declared triumphantly, before running up the stairs, giggling like a maniac.

" **MOM!** ", Frankie shouted. "Good night, Kenny", she said lovingly, then ran after her mom, shutting the door behind her. " **GIMME THAT CAMERA, MOM!** "

Kenny couldn't help but smile as he walked back to his Jeep.

xxXXxx

Draculaura and Clawd parked for about an hour at 'Inspiration Point', before heading home. They pulled up in front of the Wolf residence, not wanting the evening to end.

"Good night, Clawd", Draculaura said sweetly. "See you tomorrow. Love you, Sweetie!"

"I love you, too, Babe", he said, as he kissed her good night. He went inside as she drove away.

"Did you have a good time, Son?", Harriet Wolf asked her boy.

"Mom! You're still up?"

"Of course! Your father is asleep, but I don't go to bed until all my cubs are home; you know that", she smirked, pouring herself a cup of tea. "Tea? Or do you just want to hit the sack?"

"Wait, who's not back yet?", he asked.

"Your sister."

"I'm gonna pound Romulus!", he growled. "He should have had Howleen home an hour ago!"

"He did", Howleen said from the stairs, then she sighed. "He was _wonderful_ …..and a perfect gentleman, so don't get all crazy!"

Harriet smiled. "It's Clawdeen who isn't home yet."

"WHAT?!"

This was not like his twin sister! And definitely not what he expected when she offered to give him and Draculaura some 'alone time'! Much as he liked Duncan, the guy better not have tried anything funny with his sister! Where the hell are they?!

xxXXxx

Clawdeen had taken a serious liking to riding on Duncan's bike….her arms tight around him….her head on his shoulder. She didn't like what the helmet did to her hair, but it was worth it to be so close to him. And this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Her mind kept going back to when they were kissing, her heart so a flutter she feared it would burst from her chest. She had never felt emotions this intense before. Was this…love? Could Duncan be—dare she even think it—'the one'?

Moreover, every single one of her senses was telling her he felt the same for her. They were so in synch when they were kissing that it was almost scary. And she couldn't wait for **more**.

They turned onto her street, and she focused back on the here & now.

"That's it there, Duncan", she said, indicating a large house about half-way down on the right. "Number 1312, with the casketball hoop in the driveway."

He pulled in and parked. They removed their helmets, and he walked her to the door. They stood on the porch, holding hands as they got lost in each other's eyes.

"So", he said adoringly, "pick you up at noon tomorrow?"

"It's a date", She smirked, as she snaked her arms around his neck, her hands into his golden hair, to pull him down into a kiss.

"Mmmmm", he moaned contentedly. "You are a **great** kisser."

"Right back at ya, Hot-Stuff", she smirked.

Then the door opened, revealing a somewhat miffed Clawd.

"Where have you been?!", he asked through a clenched jaw, glaring at them both.

"Duh…with Duncan", she answered deadpan, jerking her thumb at her date; who looked a bit sheepish, rubbing the back of his head. "Didn't you enjoy goin' up to 'Inspiration Point' with Draculaura?"

"Not the point! And don't change the subject!", he said. "Even **I** got home before you! What's wrong with this picture?"

Clawdeen growled softly.

"Clawd, I realize you're just tryin' ta look out for me, and I love you for it", she said. "But I'm a big ghoul now, so back off."

Howleen giggled from the stairs, watching the scene play out. Clawd sputtered for a few moments, then exhaled in defeat.

"Fine. But call it a night and get in here", he said.

"Good night, Duncan", she smiled, hugging him tightly. "See you tomorrow."

"Absolutely", he said, tilting her chin up with his finger to give her a kiss.

'YES!', both Howleen and their mother thought to themselves, as Clawdeen came inside.

"Hang on a minute, bro", Clawd said as Duncan turned to leave. "We need to talk."

"Ookaay", Duncan said, as Clawd stepped outside and closed the door. "Sup?"

"Look, I like you, and consider you a friend", Clawd said. "I don't know, and I don't **want** to know what you and she did tonite, or where you two stand right now. And after everything that happened with Thad, we're all glad to see her so happy. But if you break her heart or take advantage of her in any way, teammate or not, I promise you extreme pain and injury!"

Duncan looked Clawd right in the eye, unflinching.

"First of all", he said, "I promise I will never do anything to deliberately hurt Clawdeen. And secondly", he smiled and put a hand on Clawd's shoulder, "You're a good brother, Clawd. I'm glad she has you looking out for her". Duncan held out his hand.

Clawd smiled and nodded, then shook his hand. Then Duncan turned and headed for his bike, to head home.

Inside, Clawdeen said good night to their mom, who was smirking, and headed upstairs….only to be ambushed in her room by Howleen!

"Well?! Come on! Tell me-tell me-tell me?!", her little sister begged.

"You first!", Clawdeen smirked.

"Huh-uh! I asked you first!", Howleen insisted. Clawdeen sighed dreamily, giving in.

"Ok. The scarnival had just closed, but we hadn't gone on the scaris wheel. So he picked me up like a bride and flew up to the top….", she told the story.

A few minutes later, Howleen sent a mass text out to all the ghouls in their social circle. Just two words: "THEY KISSED!"

A collective squeal could almost be heard across the town of New Salem. Then a second text came a moment later: "A LOT!"

xxXXxx

Duncan was walking on air as he walked in the door. He didn't even notice his mom and Kenny waiting in the living room until his mom…

"Ahem. Duncan Rosenblatt."

He nearly stumbled in surprise, and turned to see the smirking faces of his family.

"Where have you been, young man?", she smirked, knowing full well that he was with Clawdeen. "Judging by the lip-stick on your lips and cheek, you had a good time." He blushed furiously.

"W-well…..what about Kenny, Mom?", he desperately tried to shift attention from himself. He looked at his foster brother and smirked. "That's a nice shade on you. You get it from Frankie?"

"Damn straight I did!", Kenny said proudly, then smiled dreamily, touching his lips.

"Nice try, Duncan", Mom said. "But Kenny came clean as soon as he came home….almost an hour ago."

His mom and Kenny both hugged him.

"I'm so happy for you, baby!", she said.

"Same here, bro. You deserve to be happy."

Duncan smiled. Then a shadow passed over his eyes.

"What is it, Duncan?", Margaret asked, a bit concerned.

"She still doesn't know I'm really half-kaiju….or what I did", he said in a somber tone. "I don't know if I should tell her. She could hate me….or worse, fear me…I don't want to lose her. But lying to her also feels so…wrong." Margaret's eyes widened, understanding.

"You really love her, don't you?"

He nodded.

"Then you should tell her…..soon. If she loves you too, and it's meant to be, then you have nothing to worry about", Margaret said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But the decision is yours."

xxXXxx

Whatever had set off the gleeful squeals of the ghouls upstairs, now had them chatting excitedly among themselves. Since it seemed to not be an emergency, Headmistress Bloodgood sipped her tea and turned back to the paperwork she had brought to her home office. Going through some new mail, she found a letter that piqued her curiosity.

'Boodika la Fey?', she thought to herself. 'Why is the great-granddaughter of the infamous Morganna la Fey writing to me?'

The letter outlined a proposal to start a class in Magickal Studies at Monster High for the more magickally inclined students, and an offer to teach the class herself. Bloodgood was impressed and flattered by this offer from arguably the wisest and most powerful witch in the world, but she had always felt that such students were better off learning those skills from their magickal parents.

"It might be wise to reconsider that policy, actually", a faint, echo-y British-sounding voice said from the ether.

Bloodgood jumped up in surprise, looking intently around the room as she walked around to the front of her desk.

"Who's there?", she demanded. "Show yourself!"

Suddenly a swirling bright blue portal appeared in front of her, and a large muscular man stepped through. The style of his clothes was over a hundred years old, yet they looked brand new: a black & white pin-striped vest over a white dress shirt over dull grey colored pants held up by suspenders, shiny black shoes and a top-hat on his head adorned with brass goggles. His hair was short and brown and he had a mustache. Most unusual were his eyes; while both were bronze-colored and twinkled with great intelligence, the right iris was a gear. In his right hand he carried a cane crowned with a timepiece. His left hand and forearm were missing; replaced by a bronze mechanical prosthetic, the hand of which almost looked skeletal.

Bloodgood was dumbfounded, in absolute shock.

"Hexiciah?! Hexiciah Steam?!"

"Hullo, Grace", he said pleasantly, as the portal closed. Tears began to stream down her face as she quickly crossed over to him, grabbed his vest in both hands and pulled him to her, smashing her lips to his while he snaked his arms around her waist. After kissing him passionately, she slapped him across the face.

"What happened to you?!", she demanded. "You disappeared over a century ago! I thought you were **dead!** And poor Robecca…"

"I will be happy explain, Grace", he said apologetically. "But if you wouldn't mind waiting another 23 seconds so I can tell her as well?"

"What? ", she asked, confused.

Robecca had decided after spending the last few nights in her father's old lab working on a project with Ghoulia, that she needed a night at home with Headmistress Bloodgood and the ghouls. They had just gotten the good news about Clawdeen's date with Duncan from Howleen and had made a frightful amount of noise in celebration. Robecca decided to see if they had disturbed the Headmistress and apologize if need be. She knocked and entered the ajar door of her home office.

"I hope we didn't disturb you earlier, Headmistress", she said as she entered. "We just got… some… great… news….", her voice trailed off as what she couldn't believe she was seeing registered as shockingly real, and oily tears of joy began to form in her eyes. "Dad?"

"Hullo, my daughter."

"DAD!", she exclaimed, firing up her rocket boots, she slammed into her father, hugging him fiercely.

"It's good to see you again, Robecca", he said proudly. "I must say you are in remarkably good condition since the last time I saw you."

"Dad! I'm fully capable of maintaining myself", she mock protested. "And anything I can't do myself, my friend Ghoulia can help me with. After you disappeared, Headmistress Bloodgood took me in and has raised me like her own daughter."

"Did she really?", he asked, looking at Grace; tears in his eyes.

"Yes, she's been like a mother to me", Robecca said. "What happened to you? Where did you go? Why are you here now?"

"It was my time-travel experiments, you see", he began. "I miscalculated, and there was an accident."

"But **why** , Hexiciah?", Bloodgood implored. " **Why** experiment with something so dangerous as Time itself?"

"Can you not guess, my dear Grace?", he asked. "I knew that at times you let doubts plague your mind about your goal of monster/normie unity. I wanted to find and show you a future time in which that goal was fulfilled; to forever banish those doubts and replace them with hope." At that moment, Grace Bloodgood loved Hexiciah Steam even more than the day he asked her to…

"I was lost in the time-stream for a thousand years and slowly went insane. Then I got bored with that and made myself sane again. I learned the inner workings of Time and became a Time-Walker. Eventually I met others similar to myself. We voluntarily took on the responsibility of watching over all of Time and Space in the multiverse, to assure that things progress as they should."

"That's….incredible", Grace said softly. "And should anything go amiss, it is your job to set it right?"

"You were always brilliant, Grace", he smirked. "Actually, certain rules prevent my compatriots and myself from interfering directly with any timeline except under the most dire circumstances. However, we **are** allowed to warn, advise, and guide others to act; we can even help them in limited ways at times."

"Is that why you're here now, Dad?", Robecca asked.

"Other than to see my beautiful daughter again? Yes", he said, lovingly caressing her copper face with his hand. Then he turned to Grace Bloodgood.

"There are many trials and tribulations coming very soon, Grace." he said ominously. "You and your students must be ready."

"Ready? Ready for what?"

"To save each other, the community, even the world", he said. "Certain things are already playing out that will help. Two who will become leaders among your students must face their own personal tests before they will be ready to take their places, but they alone will not be enough. So I have been seeking those who can help. Lady le Fey is only the first helper I was able to send your way. Soon, others will come who can help you and your students. Let them. In the meantime, watch over the star-child."

"Astranova? What does she…?"

"I am not allowed to tell you anymore. I'll be back to look in from time to time. Until then", he hugged Robecca, "Take care, dear daughter. And, Grace?"

Bloodgood looked up as he re-opened the portal. He looked back at his daughter, then into Grace's eyes. He smiled a warm smile with sweet tears.

"Tell her." And he stepped through the portal, which then disappeared.

" 'Tell her'? Tell me what?", Robecca asked.

Tears streaming down her face, Grace Bloodgood took Robecca Steam's hands in her own.

"Did you never once wonder why I so willingly took you in and loved you after your father's disappearance? Why loving you as my own came so easily to me? Why I was so overjoyed when Ghoulia and Frankie revived you so many years after your accident?"

Robecca shook her head.

"Long ago, your father and I were very much in love", Grace told her. Robecca's mechanical eyes widened. "I was there when he was building you. It was both his and my own blood mixed into your oil and the very metal you are forged from which, when combined with the power of the Vampire's Heart, somehow makes your artificial nervous system work. The day he brought you to life, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him(Robecca inhaled sharply as she showed her the ring he gave her so long ago). I accepted joyfully. We decided to wait until you were ready for the world before telling you, and then get married with you by our side. But then…", her voice began to break, until she mastered herself. "He disappeared the day we were going to tell you; a week before the wedding."

"So you would have been….", Robecca whispered.

"I would have been your mother in every sense of the word, my dear", she said through sweet tears and a warm smile. "I love you, Robecca."

"Mum!", Robecca cried, hugging Bloodgood, sobbing oily tears into her shoulder.

xxXXx

 **Author's notes: WHAT THE...?! With how fluff-heavy my chapters have been lately and a couple more to come, I felt I had to give you all some foreshadowing and a somewhat major reveal. ENJOY!**

 **For any of you who are confused by my spelling of "magick", it is one of the ways that those of the wiccan/pagan faiths differentiate their craft from stage 'magic'. And , yes, I am pagan.**

 **And if anyone can find the Easter Eggs I used, you get a nice metaphoric Kaiju Cookie! Chocolate Chip or Oreo! And if you are also a member here, I will give you a spoiler in a PM! I will do this in any chapter in which I have used them, so keep your eyes open!**


	12. Chapter 11: Confessions

**_Hey, everyone! As usual, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. I could not find any reference to Clawdeen's dad anywhere in what I have available to me, so 'Clawson Wolf' is my OC. I also do not own the song "Monster" performed by the Imagine Dragons(I did change one line in the lyrics to fit Duncan better and left out the final chorus). Enjoy the chapter!_**

Chapter 11: Confessions

The next day saw Duncan and Kenny, after calling both Clawdeen and Frankie, climbing into the Jeep. The weather was warm enough still to leave the leather roof off of the black & urban-camo off-roader. The ghouls lived close to each other, making it convenient to pick them up. As the driver, Kenny called "first pick-up". They pulled up to Frankie's house first, to see a few cars in the clinic lot. It seemed that the Steins had some patients today. Kenny walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Frankie opened the door, looking radiant. She was wearing a teal version of the dress she wore when they met, no tie, and her hair tied up in a high pony-tail.

"Wow, Frankie", he said with a big smile, "you look nice."

"Thank you, Kenny! You're so sweet!", she said shyly, then winked. "You look good, too. That t-shirt & jeans combo with that sleeveless hoodie gives you a little bit of 'danger'. I **like** that."

"Hey, I gotta be tough enough for my ghoul, right?", he laughed.

She smiled, and cupped his face in her hands and gave him a kiss that sent him reeling.

"Hey, Kenny", Duncan chuckled when he saw his dizzy foster brother, "are you sure you're ok to drive?"

"Shut up!", Kenny laughed as he and Frankie climbed into the front seats.

xxXXxx

Before he went to bed last night, Clawson Wolf gave Romulus the 'friendly-chat' of a father to his daughter's new boyfriend when he brought Howleen home. And he appreciated Clawd having a similar chat with Clawdeen's date later. But the 'Alpha Male' in him still wanted to meet Duncan on his own terms before the relationship with his daughter progressed any further. He paced the floor as he waited, while his wife smiled. Romulus and Draculaura had already picked up Howleen and Clawd, so Clawson could focus on meeting Duncan.

"Dad, will you just **relax?** ", Clawdeen said in a tone equal parts deadpan and exasperation. "Duncan is **nothing** like Thad, so there's no need to try to intimidate him."

"She's right, dear", Harriet smirked to her husband. "You'll wear yourself out before helping me shop today. I need ingredients for my Mac & Cheese that we're bringing to the cook-out tomorrow."

The doorbell rang, and Clawdeen tried to reach the door before her dad, but was just a bit too late. Clawson grinned as he opened the door. The boy at the door had **presence,** Mr. Wolf would definitely give him that. He radiated strength; not just physical, but that of character as well. He was as tall as Clawd, and his scaly skin, reptilian green eyes, and spiky golden-blonde hair made an impression.

"Hello, Mr. Wolf", the boy said politely. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Duncan."

"Likewise, Duncan", he said evenly, shaking his hand, impressed with the strength of Duncan's grip. "What are your plans with my daughter today?" Clawdeen face-palmed behind the door.

"A double-date for a few hours with our friends at the scarnival, sir", he jerked a thumb towards the waiting Jeep. "Then home to get ready to meet at the dance."

'So far, so good', Clawson thought to himself. Then Harriet came up behind him.

"Sounds like a good day, Duncan", she said with a smile, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder and holding out the other. "I'm Harriet, Clawdeen's mom."

"No way!", Duncan said as he kissed her hand rather than shaking it. "I was sure you were her older sister!"

"Oh, you **are** a charmer", she giggled, causing her husband to arch an eye-brow. "He's a 'keeper', Clawdeen."

"Mom!"

"Yeeessss, speaking of that", Clawson said, taking a serious tone.

"Daaaad! Now? Really?!", Clawdeen griped, both deadpan and incredulous.

"He **needs** to know, Clawdeen", he said firmly. Then he turned back to Duncan. "Clawd already filled me in on his chat with you last night. I get the impression that you are a monster of your word; that you will not knowingly do anything to hurt Clawdeen. That's good. We werewolves are very loyal, very **protective** …..of our pack."

"I understand, Mr. Wolf", Duncan said respectfully.

"Then understand **this** as well, Duncan", he growled softly, staring Duncan down. "When werewolves bond with a mate, it is for **life** (Clawdeen face-palms again). So be sure you take no steps in a relationship with my daughter that you may **not** be prepared for, understood?"

"Y-yes, sir."

"Good", he said, then he adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Have a good time at the scarnival."

"Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!", Clawdeen called as she grabbed Duncan's arm and practically dragged him away from her parents.

xxXXxx

"Sorry about my parents, Duncan. Especially my dad", Clawdeen said, rolling her eyes.

"It's ok. Your family just wants to protect you after….everything, y'know?", he assured her. "I get it."

She smiled, and checked out his outfit approvingly.

"That new sleeveless biker-jacket goes great with your normal ensemble", she said. "Just switching to that from your red jacket completely changes the look. I like it."

"Coming from such a clawsome fashionista, I take that as the highest compliment", he said, as bent down slightly to kiss her sweetly.

The scarnival was just as fun the second day. The double-daters decided to stick together for awhile, and they checked out some of the local merchant booths. They won a few more prizes at the games, which they put in the parked Jeep before getting some pizza and funnel cakes. As promised, the food vendors served them for free. They cheerfully greeted various friends they ran into. They even hit all the rides at least twice; including the scaris wheel this time. Then they heard a really irritating voice heckling the crowd.

"I'm still dry, you wimps! Ain't none'a ya can hit the broad side of a mausoleum!"

They turned a corner to see a four foot tall goblin wearing a clown suit inside a dunk-tank, taunting anyone nearby, even more so anyone attempting to give him a bath. Then the goblin saw the double-daters.

"How about you, ya limp-lizard?", he taunted in a grating voice. "Think you got the stones ta ring the bell?"

Duncan growled and took a step, until Clawdeen took his arm.

"Allow me", she grinned. The goblin laughed maniacally as Duncan stepped aside with a grin, remembering saying the same thing to her the night before.

"Your **ghoulfriend?** Really?! Fine!", the goblin-clown snickered. "I bet she throws like a **_GIRL!"_**

That did it. Clawdeen picked up a ball as Duncan paid, and pulled out his phone to use the camera. Here's the wind up. Aaaand the pitch….. DING! The goblin's laughing face comically showed an instant shift into complete dumb-looking shock-*flash/click*-as he fell into the water….much to the laughter and applause of everyone around.

As the tank was re-set, the goblin sputtered and spit water as he got back into position, and Clawdeen claimed a plushy wolf as a prize and gave it to Duncan, who smiled and gave her a kiss.

"Do you want to try and win me a plushy, Kenny?", Frankie asked sweetly. Kenny was about to answer, when the goblin opened his big mouth again.

"Forget it, Patch-work!", he scoffed. "I may have underestimated that werewolf ghoul, but there ain't **no way** a noodle-armed normie could dunk me!"

In a flash of anger, Kenny's eyes turned red as he grabbed a ball and chucked it at the tank's target…. DING! His eyes went back to normal as the goblin took another unexpected bath.

"Dude! That was awesome!", Duncan said, proud of his 'bro'. "You were always good with darts, but you've never been able to throw a ball to save your life. That has to be the best throw I've ever seen you do!"

"Thanks, bro! I-I don't know what came over me", Kenny said, as he handed the plushy prize to Frankie, who hugged it and him tightly. It was a 'totes adorbs' big yellow round fuzzy pillow with a 'smiley' face on one side, and a 'winking-kissy-face' on the other.

Several monsters came over to congratulate and thank both Clawdeen and Kenny for shutting the goblin's big mouth. Duncan stepped slightly aside to let them bask. Suddenly his arm was grabbed and he was pulled away, between two booths. He found himself pinned against the wall by a familiar figure.

"Reowr. Hi, Duncan", Toralei purred seductively, her eyes filled with lust. She was wearing a flimsy, low-cut white top under her usual jacket; showing off her generous cleavage, along with an even shorter than usual skirt and no leggings along with her usual high-heeled wedges.

"Toralei", he said hesitantly. "What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?", she purrdled as she nuzzled up to him, her hands caressing his body. "I want **_you_**."

"Whoa! Hold on! You **do** know that I'm with Clawdeen, right?"

"I don't care", she cooed huskily, purrdling in her throat as she licked and kissed his neck. "She never has to know."

'Wait a minute!', Duncan thought. 'She's acting like….'

" **Oh no, you DIDN'T!** ", Clawdeen snarled as she suddenly appeared and yanked the werecat off of Duncan. "Get your claws off my date! I gonna…"

"Don't hurt her, Clawdeen!"

"WHAT?!", she glared at Duncan.

"It's not her fault!", he said. " **Look** at her! She's not in complete control of herself! She's…. _somewhat_ innocent."

Clawdeen looked at Toralei, as she held her up by her jacket; the werecat's eyes were **still** lust-filled and semi-glazed, and she was still purrdling as she struggled. Then Toralei's 'not-quite-normal' scent finally penetrated her anger. She'd know **that** scent anywhere.

"Ugh! You are sssoooo lucky that you're **in heat** , Toralei!", Clawdeen growled. Then she grinned wickedly. "Maybe I can **help** you out with that. Hey, gobby! How's that water?", she called out to the clown goblin.

"It's freezing! What do you think?!", he snapped.

"Good! Cool off, Toralei!", she laughed as she heaved Toralei over her head. The werecat yowled as she sailed through the air, and goblin shrieked in fright and jumped out of the way as she splash-landed in the dunk-tank.

A soaked to the bone Toralei, her mind cleared by the cold water, climbed out and looked at herself when she realized all the boys around were looking and drooling at her and many of those with dates were getting smacked or elbowed by their ghouls. She yowled again and desperately tried to cover herself with her jacket when she realized that she had **not** worn a bra under her now see-through and clinging white top!

The couples laughed as they went to get some chili-cheese fries and sodas. After eating, Kenny volunteered to take all their prizes to his Jeep, then meet Frankie at the scary-go-round.

"What would you like to do now?", Duncan asked Clawdeen. She smiled and took his hand in hers.

"How 'bout a walk?", she said. "Just you and me?"

"I'd like that", he smiled.

And they walked, hand-in-hand, through the scarnival and out into the open field beyond it, stealing adoring glances at each other. They came to a babbling stream cutting through the area on its' way towards Gloom Beach. The sound was peaceful, much quieter than the lively sounds of the scarnival. Duncan looked at Clawdeen, his thoughts nagging him as he smiled lovingly at her.

'I've never felt this way before, so…intense, for anyone', he thought to himself. 'But how can I hope for her to understand the truth about me and what I've done? No….she'd turn away from me in fear.'

'He's holding back….hiding something', she thought. 'But what and why? He knows how I feel about him, and I know he feels the same for me. Why won't he just open up to me? What could he be so afraid of?'

"Duncan?", she said, as she stopped and turned to face him. "I can tell there's somethin' eatin' at you. Every now and then, I can see a shadow pass over your smiling face. At first, I thought it was about you being half-normie. But I've still seen it since you told me. Please tell me, what is it? I wanna help you."

He sighed. His mother and Cupid were right. This was it…..he **had** to tell Clawdeen the truth if there was to be **any** chance of a future with her.

"I'm afraid to tell you", he said.

"Why? You know how I feel about you."

"I'm afraid that **you'll** be afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of **me** ", he said. "Of what I really am."

(Duncan sings)

 _Ever since I could remember_

 _Everything inside of me_

 _Just wanted to fit in (Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh)_

 _I was never one for pretenders_

 _Everything I tried to be_

 _Just wouldn't settle in (Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh)_

 _If I told you what I was_

 _Would you turn your back on me?_

 _And if I seem dangerous_

 _Would you be scared?_

 _I get the feeling just because_

 _Everything I touch isn't dark enough_

 _If this problem lies in meeeee_

 _I'm only a man with a candle to guide me_

 _I'm taking a stand to escape what's inside me_

 _A monster, a monster_

 _I've turned into a monster_

 _A monster, a monster_

 _And it keeps getting stronger_

 _Can I clear my conscience,_

 _If I'm different from the rest_

 _Do I have to run and hide? (Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh)_

 _I never said that I want this_

 _This burden came to me_

 _I was born with it inside (Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh)_

 _If I told you what I was_

 _Would you turn your back on me?_

 _And if I seem dangerous_

 _Would you be scared?_

 _I get the feeling just because_

 _Everything I touch isn't dark enough_

 _If this problem lies in meeeee_

 _I'm only a man with a candle to guide me_

 _I'm taking a stand to escape what's inside me_

 _A monster, a monster_

 _I've turned into a monster_

 _A monster, a monster_

 _And it keeps getting stronger_

Duncan changes into his full kaiju aspect; six short sharp horns grow out from his hairline, his ears become pointed, his claws and fangs more pronounced, his hair more spiky with the red tips & highlights more visible, his wings come out, his armor scales more prominent along with shoulder-spikes and sharp ridges on his forearms, the glow his fiery heart visible through translucent scales, and his overall coloration shifted to more red.

Clawdeen took it all in. Sure, he looked more fierce and powerful, but she wasn't afraid. She cupped his cheek with her hand and kissed him.

"But that's what Monster High is all about: **embracing** who you are, Duncan", she said.

"I know", he said with small smile. "But there's more. Those rogue kaiju didn't attack my old home at random. They were there to **kill me**. And the main reason Belloc showed up was to protect me."

"What?! Why?!"

"Because Belloc….", Duncan took a deep breath, "he's my…..Dad."

Clawdeen was stunned to silence.

"And he didn't kill that kaiju in the battle", he said resignedly, " **I did** (Clawdeen gasped). I swore long ago that I would **never** cross that line, that I would never **kill**. But when Jenna died….."

(Flashback)

"Duncan….I love you", Jenna whispered with her last breath, just before the light in her eyes dimmed and disappeared.

"Jenna?", Duncan breathed. "Jenna, don't go! Please don't leave me! Jenna, no! NNNOOOOOO!"

Sinister, rumbling laughter sounded nearby, from where the powerlines had been smashed towards him, causing the explosion that took Jenna from him. Astoroth. The kaiju laughed as he took a step toward Duncan. The half-kaiju prince gently laid Jenna's body on the grass, and closed her eyes. Then he looked to her killer and his eyes burned like emerald fire as he went blind with rage, all of his spikes and claws got bigger and his power increased exponentially. He launched himself into the air. As Duncan gained altitude, Astoroth shot multiple forearm spikes at him, as well as his spiked tendrils, to no avail. Duncan dodged them all, then turned into a power-dive towards his enemy. He extended his hand-claws in front of him as he adjusted his wings to turn himself into a high-speed drill-bit. Duncan punched straight through the kaiju's organic chest armor, and released a blast of fire-breath as he went through and punched out through the back armor. Astoroth roared in pain as purple blood erupted from his mouth.

His brother Abbadon and the three others who were keeping Belloc at bay, turned at hearing the roar….just in time to see Astoroth fall over dead. For the first time in his life, Abbadon feared something other than his king. He ordered the others to retreat and ran away. Belloc, weakened from fighting four at once, could not pursue them.

(End Flashback)

Duncan looked into Clawdeen's eyes as he finished his story. He saw shock, awe, and….yup, there it is….fear. He winced and shed a tear.

"I'm sorry, Clawdeen", he said, his voice breaking. "The last thing I wanted was for anyone to be afraid of me…..especially **you.** " He flexed his wings and took off, flying as fast as he could.

"Duncan? Duncan! Come back!", Clawdeen called, but he was gone. She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

"Sphinx! What have I done?!', she thought. 'He needed me and I froze! What is **wrong** with me?!'

She stood up and wiped her tears.

'Wait! If he's really half-kaiju, then that means Jinafire….'

She started running back to the scarnival as fast as she could. She needed to talk to Kenny and Jinafire!

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: There it is! The whole truth of Duncan's past….and his fears. So, what now? Wait and see! LOL!**

 **Just to be clear; Toralei was** **not** **in heat when she met Duncan the first time, she was genuinely attracted to him. This was simply amplified by her condition at the scarnival. As for her eyes, demeanor, and the "purrdling" sound she was making;** **anyone** **who has a female feline companion that is/was not spayed knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about! My little Shadow drove me NUTS going into heat at least 3 times before she was old enough and I had the money to have her spayed. Unless you specifically want to breed your pets, good responsible pet owners should always spay/neuter!**

 **As always, reviews, questions, and suggestions are welcomed! (no flames, please)**


	13. Chapter 12

**_Hey, Everyone! As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High, and Zombozo is owned by 'Man of Action.' I also do not own the song I have used in this chapter: "Crazy for You" performed by the immortal Madonna!_**

Chapter 12

Duncan landed in the back yard, surprising his mother, who was catching some rays by the pool. He was silent, but she could see that he was hurting.

"Duncan, what's wrong?"

"I told Clawdeen the truth….all of it", he said softly.

"And?", she asked anxiously. He looked at her, tears in his eyes.

"She was afraid of me."

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry", she said, hugging him, pained that history seemed to be repeating itself. "She rejected you?"

"Noooo….", he said hesitantly. "But I could see the fear in her eyes, so I…I just flew away before she could."

"Then maybe she won't?", Margaret said hopefully. "From what I can tell, I really think she….. Well, wait and see, there may be hope."

"Maybe", he said doubtfully.

xxXXxx

Jinafire was enjoying the scarnival along with her fellow exchange students and the Headmistress, discussing the cook-out planned for the next day at Duncan's house. She and other ghouls were still amazed at the story they were told over breakfast about Robecca's dad and the Headmistress. And they were happy for them; Robecca learning that Bloodgood was essentially her mother, and the Headmistress now able to openly claim and love her as her daughter. It was a good day and it seemed to Jin that nothing could go wrong. Then her iCoffin beeped a text alert….from Clawdeen.

'We need to talk. NOW. Meet me in front of the school.'

'Ok. What's up?', Jin texted back.

'Duncan told me the truth.'

Jin's eyes widened. 'I'll be there in a few.'

"Headmistress, I might need your help with this", she whispered, showing Bloodgood the messages.

"You may be right. Let's go", she said. Neither noticed another following them quietly from the air.

xxXXxx

Waiting by the fountain, Clawdeen's thoughts and feelings were a whirlwind. She found Kenny and Frankie on the way. After a hushed discussion, Kenny agreed to come and asked Frankie to come with, "because if we're going to be together, then you should know as well."

Clawdeen had to will herself to calm down, as she heard others approach. She looked up to see Jinafire and Headmistress Bloodgood coming toward them.

"Headmistress? You, too?", she asked.

"Yes, Clawdeen."

"Kenny, Clawdeen, what's going on?", Frankie asked. "I'm getting worried here."

"I wanted to tell you sooner, Frankie", he said softly, "but it wasn't my secret to tell…."

"Although I do love Duncan like family, Frankie", Jinafire interrupted, to save Kenny from this awkward moment, "he is not actually my cousin. We are only…distantly related….in the way that dragons are related to….firebreathing kaiju."

Frankie's eyes widened as she understood the implication. Then she hugged Kenny.

"He told me the truth, but I was too afraid to react!", Clawdeen said tearfully. "I think I hurt him without meaning to. I need to know everything all of you know…please?!"

Headmistress Bloodgood explained that Duncan's mom came to her a week before school started and told her everything about Duncan's heritage, his past, the attack, and how deeply it had hurt him. The decision between them to keep certain truths secret, due to his parentage; until Duncan himself chose to reveal them, and Bloodgood's decision to ask Jinafire for her help.

At that point, Jinafire took over the narrative. Meeting Duncan to help him adjust to Monster High, his fears of losing himself and those he loves to his growing power(Kenny was surprised to hear this part), Jin's offer to help by training him in the Ancient martial arts, and finally seeing true hope of him healing….because of his feelings for Clawdeen. Clawdeen had to stifle a sob hearing that.

"Does….does anyone **else** know all this?", Clawdeen asked.

"I did", came a feminine voice from above.

They all looked up to see C. A. Cupid float down on her white feathery wings to a gentle landing. She straightened her pink and black dress and brushed one of her bubblegum pink curls out of her eyes.

"Cupid?", Jinafire said. "How did you learn about Duncan? None of us told you, I am certain."

"He came to me on his second day at school, asking for my help and secrecy", she said. "He knocked on the door of my studio booth as I was signing off for morning classes. He told me everything, so I could give him the best advice I could."

"He came to you for advice?", Clawdeen asked.

"Advice about **you** , Clawdeen", Cupid said, then continued after seeing Clawdeen's confusion. "He was still dealing with his loss and pain when he came to our school that first day. But when he met you in such an unusual way….he was confused by his feelings."

"Indeed", Jinafire agreed. "As were **you** , Clawdeen, if memory serves."

"I **know** about Love", Cupid said. "And the way he described how you two met, and the thoughts and feelings he's had since, I told him the truth: Love-At-First-Sight, the **_rarest_** of blessings. And it's true for you too, isn't it, Clawdeen? Beneath your current state confusion and stress….I can feel it. You love him. You've loved him from the moment his eyes met yours, haven't you?"

Clawdeen was speechless for a moment…for the first time in her life. But she didn't deny it. She _couldn't_ deny it. Not even to herself anymore. She **is** in love with Duncan. Her hands went to her heart.

"I told him he should tell you the truth, one step at a time", Cupid said.

"Mom told him basically the same thing", Kenny said. "She told him that if it's meant to be, then it will all work out for you two no matter what."

"I-I **do** love him", Clawdeen admitted finally. "And it kinda scares me. I don't care if he **is** half-normie and half-kaiju. I want to be with him."

"Then **tell** him, ghoulfriend", Frankie said.

"I **want** to", Clawdeen sniffed. "But what if he don't want to see me again? What if he's too afraid of scaring me? What if, in my fear, I've hurt 'im all over again?"

"Clawdeen, you are the most courageous monster I know", Frankie said. "And a wise normie once said, 'courage is not the absence of fear, courage is the decision that something else is more important than fear'."

"And what could be more important than **_Love_** , Clawdeen?", Cupid asked.

"You're right", Clawdeen said, steeling herself. "Come on, ghouls. It's close to time to meet at Draculaura's to get ready for the dance. I just hope I can convince Duncan to still meet me there."

"I'll do what I can to help, Clawdeen", Kenny said.

"Thanks, Kenny", she smiled.

"One last thing, ghouls", Bloodgood said as they were about to leave. "I gave my word to Duncan and his mother. Those of us here who know **must** keep the truth of his scare-itage to ourselves, until he is ready to reveal it himself." They all nodded in agreement.

xxXXxx

"Duncan?", Kenny called out when he arrived home.

"He's upstairs in his room, Kenny", Margaret said from the kitchen. "You know what happened?"

"Yeah, Mom", he said. "Clawdeen came to me and Jinafire. It kinda ended up like this…"

He explained everything that happened and was said, and that Frankie was now 'in the know'. But most importantly, that Clawdeen **wasn't** giving up on Duncan. Margaret's eyes started to get misty.

"Mom, she knows the truth….and she loves him anyway", he said. "She's texting him to meet her still at the dance tonight. I promised her I would encourage him to go."

Meanwhile, upstairs, Duncan could not stop thinking about the fear he had seen in Clawdeen's eyes, and hated himself…..hated what he was. Why did this hurt so much? He had enough heartache before he came to this school, so why did he have to fall in love?

He stopped himself when he realized what he just thought. Was it true? Was Cupid right? Did he really…?

His smartphone beeped. A text message. From Clawdeen. A thread of hope shot through his heart, which got a little bigger when he read the message.

'Will you still meet me at the dance? Please?'

"Hey, Duncan?", Kenny said from the door. "I heard, bro. You ok?"

"Hey, Kenny", he said in a depressed tone. "Yeah, I told her the truth….and I saw the fear in her eyes."

"Bro, I'm sure it's not that bad", Kenny said. "I know for a **fact** she was worried about you after you left. She told me so."

"Really?", Duncan asked, his hope growing. "She **did** just send me this text."

"See? So what do you say?"

"I don't know. It's….complicated", Duncan said, looking at the floor. "But I'll think about it."

xxXXxx

It's been a tradition for generations. All across their side of town, the Monster High ghouls would gather in groups to help each other get ready for the first dance of the year; hair, make-up, clothes, and gossip about their dates. The exchange students staying with the Headmistress were one such group. Another was the fearleading squad and a few of their closest friends gathered at Draculaura's castle. Her dad, Dracula, was wisely keeping out of the way; the last time he entered his daughter's closet, he got lost for a week!

"Where's Lagoona?", Cleo asked, while Jinx helped her with her dress.

"She and Abby are with the other exchange students, prepping at the Headmistress' mansion", Spectra answered. "They'll meet us at the dance."

Clawdeen was preoccupied as she helped Draculaura with her make-up. It was almost time for the dance and she hadn't heard back from Duncan, and she was worried.

"Is everything set for my… **_'date'?_** ", Jinx asked eagerly.

Cleo grinned as she handed the pretty hobgoblin a tube of 'Nightmare Black' lip-stick. Jinx took it eagerly and applied it generously to her lips and practice-puckered. Contrasting beautifully with her green complexion, her shiny-black lips matched her dark, smokey eye-shadow; Claire's handiwork. The goth normie girl was honored that her monster friends had invited her to their traditional "pre-dance party".

"Don't worry. All the ghouls in school know **not** to wear black lip-gloss tonite, so you'll be the only one, Jinx", Cleo smirked, as did all the other ghouls. Even Claire had switched from her normal black lips to a deep red for the dance. "An ancient Egyptian make-up formula, straight from my Mummy's vanity table….. ** _very_** difficult to wash off!"

"Ahhhhiieeeeeeauhh."

"Right, Ghoulia", Frankie said. "All we need now is the handwritten note and it's all set. Clawdeen? You ok?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah", the werewolf said, taking out a paper and pen. Then her iCoffin hiccupped. "Clawd! You been messin' with my iCoffin again?!"

The ghouls heard him laugh from down the hall.

"Don't feel bad, sis", Howleen deadpanned. "Somehow, he set mine to **burp!** "

The ghouls gave a collective, "Eeeewww!"

Growling, Clawdeen looked to see what the notification was for, and her heart leapt. A text. From Duncan. She smiled and showed Frankie, who smiled and nodded with encouragement:

'I'll be there. I'll be late, but I'll be there.'

"Well, ghouls", Thorne said, "my sisters and I gotta go early to finish setting up; seeing as we're sharing the stage and entertainment duties with Holt and his DJ table."

"One sec, ghouls!", Clawdeen called, stopping the Hex Girls for a moment at the door. "I need a favor; later at the dance….."

xxXXxx

The dance was starting soon. Most of the school was already there, just waiting for the Hex Girls to finish tuning up, while Jackson got Holt's DJ table set and ready to go. They had agreed to share the music duties for the dance, as the Hex Girls wanted more practice with an audience to prepare for the Battle of the Bands. They would alternate every twenty minutes; the Hex Girls singing while Holt listed requests from students for his times DJ'ing. Claire was helping Jackson between kisses. She seemed to find the fact that Jackson and Holt were two sides of the same guy exciting. It had made his earlier relationships problematic, but Claire loved them both. She essentially had two boyfriends in one.

A short distance away, Thad was searching among his classmates with his eyes. How could Clawdeen choose a damn **_reptile_** over him?! That scaly punk was going to regret coming between him and his prize!

Then he saw her; Clawdeen was talking with her ghoulfriends….with no lizard to be seen! And she looked ravishingly beautiful. She was wearing most of her long chocolate locks clipped back into a foxtail by a gold banana-clip, with her long bangs split to either side; framing her face. Her short-sleeved purple & black slash-pattern dress left her shoulders bare, and the knee-length skirt was slashed into strips from the knees to just below her hips and went perfectly with her black open-toed high-heels. Thad began to mentally drool.

Thad was broken from his reverie by a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see the cute hobgoblin ghoul that he saw talking to Clawdeen and her friends by the fountain during the week. He'd heard the she had joined the fear-leading squad. That might explain why her dress and hairstyle was similar to Clawdeen's tonight; trying to fit in with her new teammates, although she was also wearing a large bowtie-like black bow on her head. She smiled, handed him a note, and winked at him as she walked away. His gaze lingered briefly on the sexy sway of her hips and ass.

As he unfolded the note, he smelled the perfume…sweet and alluring with just a hint of musk. When he read it, he felt a surge of excitement and victory, as it was written in Clawdeen's distinctive style:

'I can't resist you any longer. I need to give myself to you and you alone! Come to the wardrobe closet in the drama classroom in 10 minutes and TAKE ME!'

It wasn't signed, but there was no mistaking Clawdeen's handwriting! Finally! He'd heard that something had happened between her and the lizard earlier at the scarnival, where he flew away and left her in the lurch….maybe that finally brought her to her senses!

'After all…I **_am_** the best catch in the whole school!', he thought to himself, smirking.

He went to the boy's restroom to primp for a few minutes, then headed to the drama room….and his prize! He opened the wardrobe door….

"I'm here, Thad", a husky feminine voice whispered from the dark. "Close the door."

He entered and closed the door with a smirk. He clicked the light, to find it didn't work. Even his vampire eyes had trouble seeing in virtually no light at all, but he was able to 'see' her form with his bat-like echo-location, and see her approach him. As they embraced, she kissed him deeply and with more passion than she ever showed before….even under his hypnotic control. She practically shoved him against the wall kissing him, her tongue massaging his tonsils! Her hands began to unbutton his shirt as she started kissing down his neck. And that same perfume was driving him crazy! His desire welled up within him as he returned her passionate affections, pulling her back to his lips to kiss her deeply, his tongue wrestling with hers, as her hands caressed his now-exposed chest from his collarbone to his waist. Then her hands went to his belt-buckle…..

xxXXxx

(Twenty minutes later)

Thad came out of the wardrobe closet with a satisfied, almost dreamy look on his face; like a werecat that had just swallowed a canary. He had just pulled his jacket and cape back on and was about to button his shirt when….

"Hey, Thad. Did you enjoy yourself?", a very familiar, very **smug** feminine voice said in front of him.

He looked up in surprise to see Clawdeen, her ghoulfriends, and Spectra, the latter with her iCoffin out and up…she was taking pics and/or video!

"Clawdeen?!", Thad sputtered. "But you….? But I…? And we just….?"

He suddenly felt arms wrap around him from behind, and a head on his shoulder.

"Mmmmm…You were **_fangtastic_** , Lover", the husky voice he recognized from the dark said, as she licked his ear. "Any time you want another romp, just let me know, Thad! And here's a little trophy for you", as she slipped her lacy black thong-panties into his shirt pocket.

When he turned to look, he saw it was the same hobgoblin ghoul who had given him the note! Wait! The note!

"But it was your handwriting….?!"

"Jinx, did you forget to sign the note I helped you write?", Clawdeen asked sarcastically.

"Oh, I guess it's possible", she answered, still hugging the shocked Thad. "My writing is _terrible_. That's why I asked you to help me in the first place…I doubted he could even read **my** writing." Jinx finally disengaged from Thad to join her friends. "I'll see you in the dance, right, Thad? I'd **love** to dance with you", she winked at him.

"By the way, Jinx", Clawdeen said snidely, "I love that black lip-gloss you're wearing! I don't think **any** other ghoul is wearing that shade tonight!"

Thad started to panic. **Black lip-gloss?!** He looked down at himself…..to see clearly visible black lip/kiss marks making a trail down his chest and abs, with the last visible one half-covered by the top of his pants just above his….And then he remembered the passionate kissing! It must be all over his perfect face too! And Spectra still had her iCoffin out!

"Aaaauuuurrrgh!", he screamed as he ran out of the room, the ghouls laughing.

"Yes!", Clawdeen howled. " **Vengeance is mine!** He's had that coming for a long time! Thanks, Jinx."

"Glad to help, Clawdeen", the pretty hobgoblin said, then dreamily added, "And I should thank **you!** Being with Thad was even better than I dreamed it would be!"

"Come on, ghouls", Draculaura giggled. "The dance has started, and the guys are waiting."

'I just hope my guy shows up soon', Clawdeen thought to herself with mild apprehension.

xxXXxx

Kenny had already left in his Jeep to meet Frankie at the dance. Having decided at basically the last minute to go, Duncan had messaged Clawdeen then started getting ready. Already late, he decided to get there as fast as possible, and flying was faster than his bike.

Inside at the dance, the party was in full swing. Holt was DJ-jamming hard with Claire by his side, with couples and various groups of friends dancing together. The song ended, and Holt announced that the Hex Girls would take over for a bit and to write down any DJ requests for him for later. The Hex Girls opened with their song "We're the Good Bad-Girls", a favorite among the students. Clawdeen was still waiting anxiously for Duncan to arrive, and from her position near the stage, she had a good view of all the doors. She had felt mild pangs of envy for the other couples during the few slow songs that had been played thus far; wanting nothing more than to be in Duncan's arms sharing those dances. Then, as the Hex Girls' song ended, she saw him enter, and he was gore-geous; wearing his sleeveless biker jacket over a red muscle-shirt and black jeans, his luscious physique well-defined. She motioned to Thorne, who nodded back and handed her a wireless earpiece-mic.

"Ok, Guys and Ghouls", Thorne announced through her stage mic and the speakers. "We're gonna slow things way down and dial it back to the 80's here, for a special guest vocalist with a very special request….right now." And the music started for a normie song that was still a favorite even among monsters.

"Duncan", Clawdeen said into her mic, drawing his full attention(she was so beautiful), "This is for you, from my heart." And almost every ghoul in the room 'aaaaaaawwwww'ed as she began to sing:

 ** _Swaying room as the music starts_**

 ** _Strangers making the most of the dark_**

 ** _Two by two their bodies become one_**

Couples took to the floor: Frankie & Kenny, Cleo & Deuse, Draculaura & Clawd, Claire & Holt, Ghoulia & Slo-Mo, and many others. Duncan and Clawdeen slowly approach each other across the dance floor, eyes locked.

 ** _I see you through the smokey air_**

 ** _Can't you feel the weight of my stare_**

 ** _You're so close but still a world away_**

 ** _What I'm dying to say, is that_**

 ** _I'm crazy for you_**

 ** _Touch me once and you'll know it's true_**

 ** _I never wanted anyone like this_**

 ** _It's all brand new, you'll feel it in my kiss_**

 ** _I'm crazy for you, crazy for you_**

They meet, take each other's hands, kiss sweetly and start to dance together.

 ** _Trying hard to control my heart_**

 ** _I walk over to where you are_**

 ** _Eye to eye we meet, no word at all_**

They wrap their arms around each to dance closer, kissing again, before she keeps singing.

 ** _Slowly now we begin to move_**

 ** _Every breath I'm deeper into you_**

 ** _Soon we two are standing still in time_**

 ** _If you read my mind, you'll see_**

 ** _I'm crazy for you_**

 ** _Touch me once and you'll know it's true_**

 ** _I never wanted anyone like this_**

 ** _It's all brand new, you'll feel it in my kiss_**

 ** _I'm crazy for you, crazy for you_**

A deeper kiss.

 ** _It's all brand new, I'm crazy for you_**

 ** _And you know it's true_**

 ** _I'm crazy, crazy for you_**

As the song ended, Duncan and Clawdeen embraced and kissed passionately as she removed the mic she used. All their fellow students cheered and applauded. Clawdeen handed the mic back to Thorne, then took Duncan's hand and walked to a relatively quiet corner while the Hex Girls started to rock their next song.

"Clawdeen, I ….", he started, only to have her put a finger to his lips, gently shushing him.

"Thank you for telling me everything", she said, looking lovingly into his eyes. "I'm sorry I was scared there for a minute. I don't care if you're half-normie and half-kaiju….I want to be with you."

His heart felt as if it would burst from his chest from how full it was.

"I was in a really dark place, Clawdeen", he said. "I had given up hope of escaping the pain I was carrying. But then I met you and you touched my heart….and it was like…a shining light in the darkness. As scared and confused as I was, I think deep down I knew….you would guide me back to the world."

He cupped her cheek with his hand, getting lost in her eyes, and kissed her passionately. And when they broke the kiss….

"I love you, Clawdeen", he said. Her eyes widened. She knew he had never said those words to anyone outside his family before, and how hard it was for him to express his feelings….and her heart swelled for him.

"I love you, too, Duncan", she replied with her whole heart.

And Cupid, watching from a short distance away, felt the completion of their love connection. She smiled.

xxXXxx

Outside at the scarnival, voices of scarnies rang out across the area.

"So are we packing up tonite?"

"Nah, just close up for the night. We'll pack up and leave tomorrow as soon as the locals who set-up with us are gone."

"Hey", a third called out. "Don't forget those local kids who want our used fryer oil to make fuel! Giving it to them will be cheaper than regular disposal!"

In an isolated corner, a portal of swirling poisonous purple and venomous green energy appeared about twenty feet above the ground. A form fell from it to the ground, and the portal vanished. The figure stood up, groaning. He was easily 6'4" and heavy-set. he was dressed in an almost emo-goth grey-scale clown outfit; with big lapels, striped sleeves, floppy shoes, and a big top-hat over his red-orange hair, white face, black circles around his eyes, big black nose and grey 'lips' around his mouth.

"Where am I?", he said. Then he saw the school. "Monster High? Well, well. It seems I've returned to my home dimension. At least I escaped those blasted Tennyson brats! But if the Monster Council of Royals learns I've returned, they'll do far worse than exile me!" He looked at the scarnival around him, and smiled wickedly.

"And it seems that old Zombozo has literally 'dropped' into the perfect cover!", he laughed.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Ok, I admit it, I grew up in the 80's! So my musical core will always be in that era, but I do love a little bit of all kinds of music from various eras; from the classics to the present. So don't be surprised at any song selection I use….as long as it is appropriate for the story! LOL!**

 **Also, I just had to have Thad get his comeuppance for what he did and tried to do to Clawdeen in the past. A total case of justified revenge! But don't worry; even though Spectra was documenting it for her blog, she ONLY took pics and video from outside the room! After all, she may be a reporter, but she's also a good ghoul!**

 **Oh! And another villain! But we won't see Zombozo again for a while. And, yes, I am borrowing him from Ben 10. I am using the version from the first few series….BEFORE Man of Action changed their animation style. It's just better in my opinion.**


	14. Chapter 13

**_New Chapter, everyone! As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High, credit goes to the creators. Mostly fluff this time, but…on with the chapter!_**

Chapter 13

Clawdeen woke in the morning with a yawn ending in a smile, sighing dreamily. She liked riding on Duncan's bike, but when he flew with her in his arms…..her heart literally soared! After spending the rest of the evening dancing together, he sheepishly admitted to being in such a hurry to get to the dance that he flew rather than ride his bike. He was surprised by her response; that she trusted him to fly her home safely. He picked her up bridal style as he grew and extended his wings. She melted into his arms, feeling completely safe as he flew hundreds of feet above the ground.

The delicious smell of bacon brought her back to the present, and her mouth watered as she threw on her robe and went downstairs for breakfast. Her dad was reading the paper at the table, sipping his coffee. Clawd and Howleen were talking as they drank their blood-orange juice, and Mom could be heard in the kitchen.

"Well good morning, sister dear!", Howleen smirked, noticing her. "Did the love-bat sleep well?"

"Don't start with me, sis", Clawdeen growled with a smirk. "I haven't had my mocha yet."

Right on cue, Harriet appeared with a steaming mug in her hand. "Here you are, dear. Breakfast will be ready in a few."

"You're a lifesaver, Mom", Clawdeen said gratefully.

"Yeah, Mom", Clawd laughed in mock relief. "We'd all be **dead** a dozen times over if Clawdeen didn't get her chocolate coffee!"

"Ha-ha-ha. Sssooo funny, bro", Clawdeen deadpanned, as she drank her mocha.

Just then, Harriet came in with plates of pain-cakes, bacon and eggs for her family, and joined them for breakfast.

"Clawd", Harriet said, "After you finish eating; jump in the shower, get dressed, and come help me in the kitchen."

"Aw, Mom! Why? What about these two?", he said, pointing to his sisters.

"You take less time to get ready than your sisters do", she said simply. "However, ghouls, there will be **no** complaints that your brother gets the shower first, understood?"

Both ghouls groaned, but agreed.

"Good. Clawd, when you're ready, I want you to start with prepping the ingredients for my s-creamy mac & cheese while I shower and get ready, ok? We're making a lot for the cook-out."

The mention of the cook-out got all the werewolves drooling, despite the fact they were currently eating breakfast.

xxXXxx

Mid-morning at the Rosenblatt house, as the family enjoyed their coffee. The door-bell rang like a gong, surprising the gargoyle who rang it. The normie kid he had spoken to before answered the door. "Hey! Glad you found the place!"

"Yeah", the gargoyle said. "Me and a couple guys got our used fryer oil for ya. Where do ya want it?"

"The garage. Gimme a sec, I'll open it", he said before he closed the door. The garage door opened a moment later. It was bigger inside than he expected; holding a hybrid SUV, a Jeep, a motorcycle, plus what looked like a workshop and small lab in the back. There were also several 50 gallon drums lined up against a wall, not unlike the two the scarnies had with them.

"If it'd be easier for you", Kenny said, "you can just swap-out two of our empties for your full ones?"

"Sure kid", he said, motioning his guys to get a move on. "You got a **really** weird doorbell."

"Yeah", the kid snickered. "Mom picked it. Our family is kinda weird, but we're proud of it."

One of the scarnies moving the drums was a goth-looking clown.

"Hey there", Kenny said in friendly greeting. "I didn't see you at the scarnival?"

"Just joined up last nite", he said with a **really** creepy smile. "You'll see me next time we're in town."

xxXXxx

(Later that afternoon)

"Victor! Viveka!", Margaret exclaimed when she opened the door. She hugged her old friends. "It's been years! Please come in!"

"Wonderful to see you again, Margaret!", Viveka said, sparking with excitement, giving old her friend a mild shock. "Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it, Viv", she smirked.

"We brought our super-charged, super-sized blender to make drinks", Victor smirked.

"You can plug it in on the bar near the grill, out on the veranda, Victor", Margaret said. "Just ask Duncan or Kenny for help. We've got a wonderful outdoor kitchen out there."

Viveka motioned to Frankie. "Margaret, this is our daughter; Frankie. Frankie, Margaret is one of our oldest friends."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Rosenblatt", the beautiful ghoul smiled politely.

"So you're the lovely Frankie I've heard so much about", Margaret smiled warmly, shaking her hand, only to have it pop off her wrist in Margaret's hand. Frankie blushed as she re-attached it. "And please, call me Margaret." Margaret then smiled slyly.

"Kenny is out back, Frankie", she smirked, while Viveka smiled knowingly. "There's a changing room just off the sunroom, if you want to change into a swimsuit."

"Um…thanks, Margaret", Frankie blushed furiously before walking away to find Kenny.

"You're the first to arrive", Margaret told the Steins, just as the doorbell gonged again. "Please! Make yourselves comfortable. We'll catch up in a bit."

Margaret opened the door to see a regal mummy wearing royal headwear, an expensive suit, and a golden Horus headed cane. He stood in front of two beautiful mummy ghouls and a squad of Anubis guards.

"Ah, Mrs. Rosenblatt", he said smoothly. "May I present my daughters: Nefera and Cleo."

"Pharaoh Ramses De Nile", Mararet bowed her head politely. "You honor my home with your presence, and that of your lovely daughters. Please come in." He bowed in response as they entered. Margaret guided them to the veranda. Ramses motioned some of his guards forward; three carried large baskets of fresh fruits and berries, and two carried small barrels with spout-valves. The lid of one barrel seemed to be stained a reddish color. He directed all of them to the bar, while nodding in greeting to the Steins.

"Two of the finest wines from my personal cellar; one red and one white", he announced. "I am certain you and all the other parents will enjoy them as much as I do."

"You are too kind, your majesty", she smiled.

"Please", he said softly, so only she could hear, "no need to stand on titles on such a… casual occasion, _Queen Margaret_." She froze and her eyes widened in surprise. She motioned toward the house with her head, and led the way.

"How did you….?", she began to ask anxiously. He held up a hand in a re-assuring gesture.

"Calm yourself, dear lady", he said calmly. "As a fellow royal, I have known King Belloc for many years. It was not difficult to deduce the truth. Fear not, I understand your desire for anonymity. Your secrets are safe with me. In fact, you may count on assistance from me and my family should you or the Prince or your adopted son require it. Consider it a royal favor."

"Thank you, Ramses", she said, calmer but still a bit suspicious. "I appreciate that."

Meanwhile, Cleo greeted Duncan and Kenny, and asked Victor for a fruit smoothy. She almost did a spit-take when her sister came out of the changing room in a **_very_** revealing 2-piece bathing suit, colored to match her gold and Nile-blue hair and wrappings placed strategically on her arms, legs and mid-rift. Nerfera then reclined on a pool-side lounger to sun-bathe. Duncan came out, wearing black board-shorts and a green muscle-shirt, and Nefera perked right up. She lifted her designer sunglasses and smiled seductively as she sat up.

"Hey, Duncan", she said coyly. "Nice to see you again. You're looking very handsome today."

"Hi, Nefera", he replied guardedly, but politely. "I'm glad your family could come today. Excuse me, I gotta get back to prepping the grill."

"What are you up to, Nefera?", Cleo asked after Duncan left. "This is **not** like you!"

"What?", she said, feigning innocence. "He's handsome! I could eat him up with a spoon! I could really see myself falling hard for him."

"A bit late for that, sis", Cleo said to herself.

"And", Nefera continued, now with an edge, "he's no slacker like Deuce!"

"Hey!", Cleo scoffed. "My Deuce is not a slacker!"

"Indeed he'sssssss **not** , young lady!"

They both turned to see Medusa slither out of the house with her son Deuse in tow. She was wearing dark sunglasses to protect everyone from her power, just as Deuce was, as always. Unlike Deuse, instead of legs, her lower body was like the body of a large snake.

"Deuce!", Cleo squealed, as she hugged and kissed her boyfriend in greeting. "How are you, Ms. Gorgon?"

"I am well, Cleo", she replied with a fanged smile, then frowned. "But I sssssee that your sssissster issss ssstill a little ray of ssssunshine. I brought my sssspecial baklava for thisss occasion."

"Ooohh! Yummy!"

Margaret answered the door again, to find the Headmistress, Robecca, and the exchange students.

"Hello, Margaret."

"Hi, Grace", she replied. "How are you ghouls doing? Please come in! Everyone is gathering out back."

"G'day, Mrs. Rosenblatt", Lagoona piped up as she entered. "I'm Lagoona Blue. We stopped at a fish market I know and trust, and we brought some fresh shrimp for the barbie."

"That's wonderful, Lagoona! Thank you!"

"And you can count on Abby to be havink plenty of ice", the yeti ghoul said, frosting her hand as she held it up.

"Thank you, Abby", Margaret smiled. "I'm sure Dr. Stein would love the help at the bar."

"So Frankie and her family are already here?", Robecca asked.

"Yup!", she laughed. All the ghouls looked happy to hear that, as they headed for the back yard, a few going to the changing room when made aware it was there.

"How are things going so far, Aunt Margaret?", Jinafire asked.

"Pretty good for the most part, Jin", she replied. "Although, Ramses makes me a bit uneasy. Nothing I can't handle."

The doorbell gonged again. Margaret excused herself to answer the door, while Viveka watched Frankie with Kenny with a smile and a few tears of joy on her face.

"Look at her, Victor", she said, as she saw them laughing, holding hands, and a chaste kiss. "After all of her heartbreaks last year, it's wonderful to see our daughter so happy."

"Indeed, Dear", Victor replied, also watching Frankie and her boyfriend. "I like this boy."

Margaret opened the door to Claire, her parents, and friend Chad; each carrying a 12-pack of soda: DraCola, Mountain Doom, Root Beer, and Ginger Ale. They shared greetings, and Margaret was about to close the door and guide them to the back when she heard a voice call out from the driveway…

"Hi! Wait for us!", Draculaura called, pulling up with Jinx and Operetta. They hopped out of the convertible, each carrying a large dish.

"Nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Rosenblatt!", Draculaura said, in her usual bubbly manner. "I'm Draculaura! This is Operetta and Jinx! Their parents couldn't come, but my Dad will join us after sunset!"

"Nice to meet you all", Margaret said, then laughed, "If food keeps coming in like this, we are going to have a **huge** buffet." The ghouls all smiled.

"Garden salad!", the petite vampire quipped, holding a huge salad bowl.

"The best potato salad you will ever taste", Jinx smiled, holding another bowl, not quite as large.

"And what's a barbeque without Southern barbeque baked beans, Sugah?", Operetta said in her charming Southern drawl with a wink; holding a large baking dish.

The next to arrive were the hybrids, accompanied by Bonita's father(the Mothman) and the Hex Girls' witch mothers. They brought a couple of fusion dishes to add to the menu.

Next, Spectra and Vandalla arrived aboard the ghost-pirate ghoul's ethereal ship, while Jackson and his parents rang the doorbell.

One by one, individuals and families, more guests arrived, until almost all those able to attend arrived. The socializing was in full swing for all; the parents and Headmistress, and the teens. Some had changed into swimwear and were taking full advantage of the warm afternoon and/or the pool.

Duncan had just escaped another flirting attempt by Nefera, when he saw Chad talking to Jinafire; who was taking a turn at the grill cooking. Duncan smiled as he approached to take over.

"So it's cool if I join the kung fu lesson here on Thursday?", Chad asked hopefully.

"Of Course, Chad", she said. "The knowledge and wisdom of the ancients is meant to be shared."

He smiled, then left when Claire called him over to meet the Hex Girls.

"Jin, you **do** realize that Chad is crushing on you, right?", Duncan smirked as he took the grill-tongs and spatula from her.

"What? Impossible. I am a dragon", she scoffed, with a slight smile. "Why would a normie have a crush me?"

"Ahem", he smirked, jerking a thumb toward Kenny & Frankie and Claire & Jackson. "And don't forget my mom."

"Touche", Jin said.

"Besides, Jin, you are a beautiful ghoul who is also smart, wise, and you have a good heart", Duncan said. Jin blushed, but was still skeptical.

"What makes you so sure?", she asked.

"First of all, he can't stop smiling when he's around you", Duncan started. "Second, Kenny told me he asks about you whenever they talk. And third, Chad is even clumsier than Kenny….. yet he wants to join our training no matter how much of a fool his clumsiness will make him look. All of that tells me that he wants to spend as much time with you as possible."

"He's right, Jin", Cupid said, coming out of nowhere. "That boy is totally smitten with you."

Jinafire turned to truly look at Chad as he chatted with Claire and the Hex Girls. He **was** cute for a normie, and his sweet demeanor and helpful nature showed a good heart, and her heart fluttered slightly; causing her to blush. Could it be possible? Most female dragons her age had already found their 'other-half'; usually another dragon or physically/genetically compatible monster of another species. Yet none had shown any interest in her beyond admiring her beauty; no true attraction or connection. And yet, this cute normie boy seems to have feelings for her? Wait! What? Cute?! She blushed and smiled. Maybe this was worth investigating. She walked toward Chad and the others.

"Another potential connection made", Cupid smiled. Then the doorbell gonged again.

Margaret opened the door to see the Wolf famly, and smiled.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wolf! I'm so glad you could make it!", she said. "And wonderful to see you again, Clawdeen!"

"Pleased to meet you", Harriet smiled. "And please, call me Harriet."

"Clawson", Mr. Wolf introduced himself, extending his hand, which Margaret shook, then Harriet's.

"And you can call me Margaret."

"Margaret", Clawdeen began, motioning to her siblings, who were each carrying large casserole dishes, "this is my brother and sister: Clawd and Howleen."

"Nice to meet the mom of my new teammate", Clawd smirked, "and the mom of the boyfriend of my snarky twin sister."

"Ugh! Clawd!", Clawdeen face-palmed. Margaret giggled a softly.

"Duncan is cooking at the grill, Clawdeen", She smirked, then to the family as a whole, "Everyone is out back. If anyone wants to swim or sunbathe, there's a changing room just off the sun-room." The ghouls went to change, but Clawd was already wearing board-shorts and a t-shirt, and picked up his pace once he heard Draculaura's high-pitched laugh.

As the party progressed, everyone was enjoying the gathering and the food. Even the De Niles, who were more used to expensive, high-end delicacies for every meal, were enjoying this buffet of more common foods cooked fresh and with love. Vegetarian Draculaura stuck to the salads and sides and even enticed Clawd, her carnivore boyfriend, to sample them between bites of his cheeseburger and chicken. He found them to be delicious enough to add to his plate. Dr. Victor Stein had decided to fill the role of bar-tender, assisted by his wife, Dr. Viveka Stein, with Abby re-filling the ice buckets as needed.

Margaret noticed one of the ghouls who had arrived with the Headmistress was not eating at all; just serenely sipping ice-water as she levitated in a lounged position, sun-bathing beside Venus and her mother. The ghoul's body appeared to be made of living, dark purple crystal while her 'clothes' and head-dress were composed of white and silvery crystal shards. Her hands had only three fingers and a thumb each and she had stars in her purple eyes. Margaret had extensive knowledge of the monster world, but this ghoul was completely unfamiliar to her.

"Are you sure you're not hungry, dear?", Margaret asked her.

"Oh!", she yelped in surprise, as she 'stood' and turned to Margaret. "Yes, ma'am, I am fine. The people of my world do not 'eat' in the way you do."

"Your 'world'?"

"Indeed. I am not of this Earth. My name is Astranova. I was an explorer from the planet Psion", she said, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Please, call me Margaret. An explorer? That sounds exciting! How did you end up here?"

"My mission was to find un-inhabited planets that could support my people for colonization when we….", her voice trailed momentarily and took on a sad tone. "When we learned our planet was dying."

"I'm so sorry, dear", Margaret said compassionately. "If you'd rather not talk about it…?"

"No, it's alright", Astranova said. "I had sent back a great deal of data on several potentially suitable planets, when a collision with a small asteroid damaged my life-support and navigation systems; putting me in stasis and setting my ship on a long slow orbit around your sun.

Apparently", she laughed, "my ship became a prophetic, promise-binding comet of legend, until another collision in space sent my ship on a collision course with your city of Boo York." Margaret gasped. The Boo York incident! "But Ghoulia and a robot friend in Boo York, Elle Eedee; managed to send a signal that woke me, and I prevented the crash and landed safely. But doing so drained all remaining power, stranding me here. Headmistress Bloodgood took me in and offered to educate me about my new world. I adapted some of my ship's tech to help me feel more at home."

"And your family? Your homeworld?"

"Gone for all I know", she said sadly, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I can only hope that they were able to find a new home among the planets I found before my ship was damaged. I miss them all. I would give almost anything to see them again….even my creepy Uncle Obsidious. He was against my mission."

"Why was he against it? Wasn't it the only hope for your people?", Margaret asked.

"Uncle Obsidious was the leader of our military", Astranova said. "He thought it would increase the chances of survival if we simply conquered an inhabited world. He reasoned that we would already know it could sustain life, and possibly even have infrastructure and cities that we could easily adapt. He even said that any surviving natives could serve our people as labor. My parents and most of the ruling council thankfully disagreed, saying it would be wrong to take what was not ours. In the end, my uncle relented, and gave me this necklace for good luck in my mission". She held a black crystal pendant up.

"It's beautiful, Astranova", Margaret said. "And I hope you come to love your new home here on Earth."

"Thank you, Mrs….uhm, Margaret."

Meanwhile, Clawdeen snuck up behind Duncan at the grill, waiting for the right moment to safely surprise him.

"Hi, Clawdeen", he laughed without turning around.

"How did you know…?" she stammered, as he turned to hug her.

"I saw your shadow and smelled your perfume", he smirked, giving her a kiss. "Which is driving me nuts, by the way!" The boyfriend and ghoulfriend continued to interact affectionately, to the smiles of most who observed them. Nefera on the other hand, fumed!

"Oh my Ra! What is she…?", she snarled softly.

"Oh! Didn't anyone tell you, dear sister?", Cleo smirked slyly. "Those two have had chemistry since they first met on the first day of school. They officially became a couple at the dance last night."

'We'll just see about **_that_** ', Nefera thought to herself. 'He's the first prince I've met who was **worthy** of me, and I will **not** be denied! Puppy-love is no match for my beauty and skills. Stealing him from that furball will be as easy as cursing a tomb-robber.'

The sun set, and the evening began to cool and everyone who was wearing swimsuits changed back into normal clothes. A large bat approached from the air, landed near the adults, and morphed into Dracula.

"Daddy!", Draclaura squealed, hugging her dad as he wrapped her in his cape returning the hug.

"I told you I vould make it, my dear", he smiled at his daughter.

"Dad, this is Margaret, Duncan's mom and our wonderful host."

"Always a pleasure to meet so fine a lady and so noble a human as yourself, Margaret", Dracula said as he kissed her hand.

"The pleasure is mine, Lord Dracula", she smiled, then smirked. "I'm sure you already know most of your fellow guests. Would you like a 'Bloody' Mary?"

"That joke never gets old!", the vampire laughed. "Of course! But please tell me that you have…?"

"Not to worry, old friend", Victor said from the bar. "I brought a few pints of O+ that the clinic had to spare."

"I knew I could alvays count on you, Victor! Vun spicy Bloody Mary, if you please?"

Margret noticed Medusa appeared to a bit agitated as she spoke to someone on her iCoffin, and she hung up with a hiss.

"Something wrong, Medusa?", she asked.

"Hopefully nothing to worry too much about", the gorgon replied. "That wassss my sssissster, Ssstheno, back in the Greek Islandssss. There wasss a break-in at the monsssster musssseum. Sssseveral artifactsss believed to be the weaponssss of legendary monssster ssslayersss were ssstolen. If they are genuine, they would be a sssserious threat to the monsssster community."

Margaret didn't like the sound of that. She knew enough about both the human and monster communities to know that there were still monster hunters around. One of the most famous, Van Hellscream, lived in this very town, in fact!

"Listen", she said, "I have a few connections who could look into this if I ask. I'll let you know if I find out anything, ok?"

"Thank you, Margaret", Medusa said with true gratitude. "I've never been ssso grateful to a normie sssince Perssseuss took pity on me and ssspared my life. Fortunately for hisss dessstiny, he had to behead my other sssissster, Eurayle, in ssself-defenssse. She wasss a nassty bitch though, turned people and monssstersss to ssstone jussst for the fun of it. And she treated Ssstheno and I like crap."

"Wow", Margaret said. "I guess family is complicated no matter the era."

The evening carried on, and eventually, Margaret found herself in a conversation with the parents of Clawdeen, Draculaura, Deuce, Bonita, the Hex Girls, Jackson, and Claire; about cross-species dating and what comes along with that. Most of what she learned was positive; occasional problems, but **many** rewards….especially if the couple truly loves each other. Combined with her own experience with Belloc, and hearing about how happy Clawd and Draculaura were together—despite the history of hatred between their species—she was truly hopeful for Duncan and Clawdeen, as well as Kenny and Frankie. Conversely, she also reassured Clawson and Harriet that Duncan would never deliberately hurt or use **anyone** , let alone someone he loves.

The party broke up around 9:30, as the Headmistress reminded everyone that it was a school-night. As Margaret settled into a cup of tea before bed, she reflected on the success of the party. She was now familiar with most of her childrens' friends and their parents, her hopes concerning Duncan and Kenny's romantic relationships were confirmed and bolstered, and her fellow parents seemed to like her. Yup, it was a good day.

xxXXxx

Deep space. An enormous ship travelling inexorably on course. It appears to be two convex, hexagonal discs stacked atop each other, connected by a core-pillar. The entire ship was more than five miles across, with multiple launch-bays and virtually covered in weapons.

Inside, the crew of crystalline/metallic robotic soldiers tirelessly perform their appointed tasks. One whose armor was more golden than the standard silver drones had just finished reporting to a superior of vastly different design; obviously designed more for thinking and strategy. He was of much lighter build, dressed in red robes with a high collar. The top of his oval-shaped, almost pointed head was transparent, showing his electronic brain, as the synapses inside lit up as he processed his thoughts. He walked to a diamond-shaped doorway, and two crystal panels slid aside to give him entry into a dark, high-ceiling'ed room with light over a tall pedestal. The pedestal rotated, revealing a figure sitting in a command chair…a figure, with the exception of his crystalline flesh being smoky black in color rather than deep purple, resembling a nearly ten-foot tall older male version of Astranova.

"By your command", the robot said in a very proper, almost shwarmy voice while he bowed to the seated figure.

"Speak", the Psion said in a deep commanding voice.

"Our sensors are still receiving the tracking signal, and we remain on-course, as you commanded. But we are now picking up unfamiliar signals from the same direction. Possibly from the same planet the tracker has been on for the past three hectons."

"The nature of these 'strange signals'?"

"They appear to be video and audio signals of a possible entertainment nature; implying a sizable native population of at least a moderate level of technology."

The Psion smiled malevolently.

"And the nature of the natives?"

"Mostly bipedal, Carbon-based life-forms; a vast majority being of the same rather unremarkable species who refer to themselves as 'humans'. The rest of the population seems to be made up of a variety of different and far more interesting and powerful species, collectively known as 'monsters'."

"A ruling class, then?"

"It appears not. Each side mostly segregates from the other and co-exist, with some strife between the two on occasion. There are implications of larger wars between the two in the past, which have mostly been left in the past. Each side also appears to have their own system of government, although the populations seem to overlap to an extent."

"Remain on-course and continue to monitor these signals, Veron. Learn as much as possible and report your findings to me regularly."

"By your command, Obsidous Blackstar."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: What the….?! All that fluff this chapter and then….** ** _POW!_** **Those of you familiar with the classic (1978) Battlestar Galactica will realize that my inspiration for Obsidious and his mechanized army is of course the Cylons. At intervals, I will reveal more on his intentions and motivations. Needless to say, Obsidious Blackstar and his underling Veron are my OC's.**

 **xxXXxx**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

'A Hot Date!', screamed the headline of the Ghostly Gossip on Monday, and the whole school read and saw the post about Thad's rendevous with Jinx in the wardrobe closet, complete with pics and video; from Jinx sneaking into the closet, Thad's arrival shortly after, and the aftermath when Thad came out all disheveled and covered in black lip-stick kisses and Jinx's invitation to more any time.

Thad was humiliated, getting cheers from some students who saw Jinx as the beautiful ghoul she was, and jeers from many fellow vampires. While some vampires, like Draculaura and her father, were fair and open-minded; many vampires still held their aristocratic views, airs….and prejudices. They considered themselves better than most other monsters with few equals; zombies were useful as servants while werewolves were bitter rivals, but they considered some species so far beneath them as to be contemptible, good for nothing but cannon-fodder minions in times past. Hobgoblins and their ilk were in that category. And Thad had been **sexually intimate** with one. Even the vampire ghouls in his own harem were so disgusted as to resist his hold on them and ridicule him for being with 'a filthy hob'.

He seethed; blaming Clawdeen, her ghoulfriends, her dragon boyfriend(how could she choose that over him!), and Jinx. When it really sank in the he'd unwittingly made passionate love to a **hobgoblin** , the most **_intense_** sex he'd ever had; he was both disgusted with himself, and inexplicably excited at the same time. Whenever he thought about that night, he wanted to puke at the same time his member swelled in his pants. And the confusion was driving him crazy.

"Grraauuuugh!", he snarled as he stomped through school to the jeering laughter and finger-pointing of his fellow vampires. He might have to change to a locker outside of the predominately vampire hall, just to have some peace. Distracted by his anger and humiliation, he turned a corner, and crashed right into Jinx.

"Well hello, Sexy", she cooed lustily, tracing a finger along his collarbone.

" ** _You!",_** he snarled. "I've lost my social standing in the vampire rank and file because of you and your ghoulfriends! Even my vampire ghoulfriends won't talk to me!"

"Whoa! Easy, Lover!", she said calmly, as Cleo and Lagoona came up behind her. "If that's true, then you deserve better friends."

"How **dare** you!", he growled. "We are the **elite!** Or at least I was, until you all tricked me!"

"Maybe the others tricked you", Jinx admitted quietly, "and considering what you tried to do to Clawdeen last year, you deserved it. Yes, I was happy to be a part of it, but that's because I was happy for **any** chance to be with **you**. I genuinely want you."

"Wha….? You must be jo….!", he sputtered.

" ** _And_** ", she interrupted him with a finger to his lips, "I know for a _fact_ that you **enjoyed** being with me". She looked him up and down, and smiled hungrily when she saw the swelling bulge in his pants. "And it looks like it still turns you on when you think about it. That's ok", she leaned in close, and cooed huskily, "I get wet every time I think about it, too. I'm soaked right now, in fact."

Cleo and Lagoona couldn't help but grin at the scene playing out in front of them. Jinx looked into Thad's eyes with lusty half-lidded eyes as she leaned in closer. He was paralyzed with indecision.

"You want to **kiss** me right now, don't you, Thad?", she said lustily, licking her lips.

"I…I..I…", he stammered, as he started to step back. She leaned in fast, wrapping her arms around him; left hand into his hair, right hand to his ass for a squeeze as she pulled him closer, her D-cup breasts pressed into his chest.

"Don't be afraid of your feelings, Thad", she cooed, then she kissed him passionately. He resisted at first, then melted into it, snaking his arms around her, one hand going to her ass. She moaned with pleasure as he squeezed her ass. After almost half a minute of grinding lips and wrestling tongues, he broke the kiss with a shocked look on his face; as if he just realized what was happening. He ran off toward his next class.

"That was clawsome, Mate", Lagoona said.

"I'll say", Cleo smirked. "It looks like you totally got into his head….maybe even into that stone cold heart of his."

"Maybe it's mutual, Jinx?", Lagoona smiled.

"Oh come on, ghouls", Jinx scoffed. "I told you about my people; sex has nothing to do with love for us."

"Then why are your hands on your heart, Mate?", Lagoona smiled. Jinx looked down and saw that Lagoona was correct. She squeaked and blushed as she hurriedly dropped her hands to her sides.

"Um…don't we have 'Dead Languages' now, ghouls?" Jinx said sheepishly.

xxXXxx

That day, the first day of school as an official couple, was pleasant for Duncan and Clawdeen, doing almost everything together. She still rode into school with her siblings in Draculaura's convertible, and they still had a few classes apart. But other than that….they got their morning double-chocolate lattes together and sat together with their friends at lunch in the creepateria, and sat next to each other in the classes they shared. All their friends and most of their peers were happy for them. Amanita Nightshade and Toralei were notable exceptions, but everyone ignored them. However, Nefera could not be ignored, especially when she tracked down the fear-leading squad at lunch.

"Ok, ghouls, squad practice after school all week to get ready for the first Scream game on Friday", she said in a tone that would brook no argument. "Meet down at the Scream track. Might as well practice where we'll be cheering anyway, right?"

The squad was now well aware of Nefera's desire for Duncan, and deduced that was the true reason for practicing at the Scream course, at the same time the Scream team would be practicing. Clawdeen had to be restrained by Duncan and her friends or she would've left Cleo without a sister. Cleo even cut-off the werewolf's vicious sarcastic retort to Nefera's practice order.

"Sure, sis", Cleo almost shouted hurriedly, "we'll be there."

"Why did you all stop me?!", Clawdeen said as soon as Nefera was gone. "That ghoul has **_seriously_** got it comin'!"

"Because technically, as our coach, she's a member of the school faculty now, the equivalent of a teacher", Frankie said. "And attacking a teacher is grounds for expulsion! We have to find another way to deal with her."

"Until then", Duncan scoffed, "I don't know who's worse; her, Toralei, or Amanita. But something about Nefera….."

"Say what?", Clawdeen deadpanned with an arched eyebrow.

"Nothin' like that, sweetie", he smirked, giving her a quick kiss. "But I think she's hiding something. Like she has some kind of trump card she could play."

"Cleo, think you could find out what's up?", Draculaura asked.

"Maybe…. if Ghoulia can help me", the beautiful mummy smirked.

"Aahuuuh", Ghoulia moaned with a smile.

"And I'll keep an eye on her whenever she's on school grounds", Spectra said. "After all, I'm not just a gossip, I'm an investigative reporter!"

"Attention students!" the P.A. system crackled to life with the voice of the headmistress. "I am proud to announce that Monster High now has a new teacher. Ms. Boodika Le Fey will be teaching a class in 'Magickal Studies' to any and all magickally inclined students. Any interested students please report to the vampitheatre after lunch."

"Oh my Ra!", Cleo said in awe. "A chance to learn magick from Boodika Le Fey?! Have you ever heard anything so clawsome?" A wave of awed whispers rippled through the creepateria, sharing that sentiment. The Hex Girls were beside themselves with excitement. They had grown up hearing stories from their mothers about the great, wise, and powerful Boodika Le Fey!

xxXXxx

Twelve students, boys and ghouls, waited excitedly in the vampitheatre; including Neighthan, Cleo, Thorne, Dusk, and Luna. The others were the children of fairies, witches, and wizards. Basically, all of them were the only students in the school with natural affinity for, or had existing, magickal abilities. The Headmistress entered, escorting an attractive matronly woman with violet eyes and long silvery hair, wearing red and grey witch robes over a matching bodice-dress which barely contained her ample bust, upon which rested a large silver jeweled pentacle amulet on a silver chain.

"Welcome, students", Bloodgood said. "May I present Ms. Boodika Le Fey, our new teacher of Magickal Studies."

"Greetings and Blessed Be, my children", the elder witch said with a warm smile. "And such a variety of magickal talent I see here! And almost the perfect number of students for the class, a good omen indeed. I will be teaching you how to expand and improve your individual abilities, magicks you may not be familiar with, and how to work together in groups and a coven. First, I must feel your auras, to determine your ability and potential. Please line up here on stage." They obeyed, as Bloodgood took a seat to watch. Boodika then started at the far left, with Cleo; with one hand on her amulet, the other extended near her potential student, and her eyes closed to open her senses. She opened her eyes after a moment.

"Ah, ancient Egyptian magick. Talented with curses, use of cursed or charmed objects, and defensive magick. Also able to use your wrappings for fashion….or a weapon. A bit of a royal diva, but you care deeply for family and friends. Your potential for new magicks is…limited, but your potential for improvement within your existing talents is great. I welcome teaching you." Cleo smirked.

Boodika moved down to the Hex Girls and repeated the process.

"Three sisters! Excellent! The daughters of witches, and a shared vampire father, interesting. Great musical talent…that will serve you well in studying magicks. You three have vast potential in all magicks. I take it that you three have already learned a great deal from your mothers?" They nodded. "Good. I look forward to adding to your knowledge." Thorne, Dusk, and Luna practically squealed together as Boodika moved down the line from them.

Neighthan was next.

"Half-unicorn! Very interesting! Gifted in healing magick, very useful…..a **coveted** gift. You already use your gift to help whenever you can, don't you?"

"Y-yes, ma'am", he stammered. "I often help the school nurse when students come in with injuries."

"Very good. I can help you tap deeper into your gift, so you can not only heal almost **any** injury, but also stop poisons and help ease some illnesses as well. And I'm sure you will enjoy learning about medicinal herbs and potions."

She continued down the line, to each student. Each had talents in some form or discipline of magick, some more than others. The students were dismissed to their regular classes while Boodika and Bloodgood discussed scheduling. They agreed to schedule the class for the final class-period of the day, to make moving the students' schedules around easier, and that the schedule would be set by the end of the week, with Friday being the first day of the new class. Still, Boodika appeared mildly perplexed.

"I am surprised that there were only 12 students", she said. "I am positive that I sensed 13 potentials in the area."

"Well, I am unaware of any more here in Monster High", Bloodgood said. "Is it possible that the last is unaware of their gift?"

"Either that, or they attend a different school nearby. Or it could be _both_ are true."

xxXXxx

Claire was on her way to meet Chad and Kenny in the library for a free period. She stopped at a drinking fountain and was about to drink, when she was suddenly shoved aside and down to the floor.

"Outta the way, you goth-geek", said Tiffany; the strawberry-blonde Queen B and head cheerleader for the school. She drank while her entourage of mean-girls waited their turns, smirking at Claire. She growled and walked away, unaware that her eyes briefly glowed violet and the water suddenly sprayed out at high pressure into Tiffany's face. She shrieked as she almost fell down, her make-up ruined.

xxXXxx

With the last bell of the day rung, most of the students got ready to head home. Duncan and all his friends gathered briefly before splitting up to go home or to team practices. Spectra floated down through the ceiling to join them.

"Did you hear?", she asked them. "Toralei and Amanita got into a **huge** argument about which of them was going to steal Dunacan from you, Clawdeen."

"They can dream on, Spectra", Duncan said as he wrapped his arms around his ghoulfriend from behind and kissed her neck. The werewolf smirked and kissed his cheek.

"Jeez, Duncan", Neighthan said in admiration. "Not only do you have a clawsome ghoulfriend, but you also have two more smokin' hot ghouls chasing you! Three, if you count Nefera as well. And a whole lot of ghouls in the school who can't take their eyes off you! Whatever you have, **_please_** teach me?!"

At this comment, Avia got visibly frustrated. **That** was the very last straw, and she smacked him in the back of the head.

"Ow!", he squawked as he rubbed his head. "Avia! What was **_that_** for?"

"Neighthan, you….you….Uuuugh!", the harpy-centaur scoffed with tears in her angry eyes, just before she turned and galloped away.

"What's **her** problem?", he asked as he turned to the others, all of whom had deadpan faces, knowing _exactly_ what was bothering Avia.

" **Really?** ", Duncan face-palmed. "Dude, you are **_so_** stupid. She's **_totally_** into you."

"Huh? No way! We've been best friends since we were little kids", he said. "She couldn't be…."

Then he thought about it, and things began to fall into place; the strange looks she would give him sometimes, her emotional outbursts, spending more and more time with him for even the flimsiest reasons….Neighthan face-palmed himself. "I'm a complete idiot."

"No, bud", Duncan said with a smile of encouragement. "You're only a **complete** idiot if you don't run after her **right now**."

"Right!", the zombie-unicorn boy said, as he ran in the direction she had fled in. "Avia! Wait up! Let's talk…..!"

xxXXxx

It was a matter of pride that Nefera took her role of fear-leading coach seriously, despite it being part of the scheme to win over Duncan. She did her job, and she had to admit, the squad was good. Practicing on the sidelines of the Scream course was a big help in both her plans. Monster High would win the Scream and Fear-Leading championships as surely as she would steal Duncan's heart.

As the squad took her coaching hints and practiced their routines, Nefera watched the Scream team practice, looking over Ghoulia's shoulder at her computer screen. Duncan was indeed impressive, picking up on team moves and maneuvers quickly, as well as adapting his own abilities to the game to help himself and his teammates.

"I think that will do for today, Team", Clawd said. "Let's hit the showers and call it a day."

The team headed for the locker-rooms, and the squad moved to as well, when Nefera had a wicked thought; a chance to get Duncan **alone**.

"Hold on, ghouls", she said. "Ghoulia, since you're here anyway, can you help us with your lap-top video thingie?"

"Auhuuh", the zombie affirmed, a bit suspicious of Cleo's sister.

"What's up, sis?", Cleo asked, sharing her friends' suspicion.

"Your pyramid needs work", she said. "So we're running practice for another 30 minutes. Ghoulia, video it so Cleo and I can show the others where it can be improved, ok?" And she headed toward the corridor to the locker-rooms.

"Where are you going, 'Coach'?", Cleo asked sarcastically.

"The little ghouls' room", she said cheerfully. "Be right ba-ack."

As soon as she was out of sight, Nefera took a short-cut that she knew to get ahead of the Scream team before they reached the locker-room.

"Duncan!", she called out when she saw him. "You got a minute?"

"I guess", he said hesitantly as he separated from the others, who looked suspicious, but continued on; trusting Duncan's judgement and loyalty. "What's up?"

"You're incredible", she said with a seductive smile. "I saw you in practice, and you are the most impressive player I've ever seen. You're going to be a champion, I just know it! You may be young, but I can see how strong and mature you are. (she stepped closer and cupped his cheek with her hand) And sssoooo handsome. You know, I'd **love** to go out with you some time….?" She caresses her hand down from his cheek to his neck and chest seductively. It makes his skin crawl.

"I-I'm flattered, Nefera, I really am", he lied politely. "But I really am happy in my relationship now."

Inwardly, Nefera seethed, but kept the lusty smile on her face. "Well, if you change your mind", she said huskily, licking her lips as she slid her hand across the front of his pants; right over his family jewels. "I'll do things with you that no little high school ghoul could even dream of."

"Yeah, I gotta go now", as he rushed to catch up with the team.

" ** _Sphinx!_** ", she cursed once he was gone, and she was heading back to where the squad was practicing. "This might be harder than I thought! But he **will** be mine!"

xxXXxx

"SHE DID **_WHAT?!_** ", everyone shouted in unison once they were all showered and changed after practice and Duncan relayed what happened with Nefera. Clawdeen's eyes turned red.

"I'M GONNA **SHRED** THAT MUMMY ** _SLUT!_** ", she snarled, as all the ghouls tried to restrain her.

"Chill out, Clawdeen!", Cleo urged. "She knows about you and Duncan! She could be **trying** to enrage you into doing something stupid….to get you expelled!"

"You might be right, Cleo", the werewolf said, reigning in her anger somewhat.

"But I still don't know why she's so obsessed with you, Duncan", Cleo said, looking stumped. "Don't get me wrong; you are a clawsome guy, right up there with my Deuce. But my sister has always said only a guy from a noble—or better yet; **royal** —family would **_ever_** have a chance of being worthy of her attention."

Duncan, Clawdeen, and Frankie all shared a look. Could Nefera know the truth? If she did, then she was a ticking timebomb! How could they find out if she knows, without her finding out if she doesn't?

xxXXxx

Vera had just awakened, and was drinking her goblet of blood, while her daughter waited to speak with her.

"Vell, my daughter, vhat have you learned about this dragon boy?"

"Duncan has joined the school Scream team, and it seems that he is also half-normie", Vanna told her. "From his mother."

"Interesting. Anything else?", she asked. Vanna grinned wickedly.

"He's dating Clawdeen Wolfe", she smirked. "And he apparently loves that werewolf enough to resist the attentions and charms of two other ghouls who have been throwing themselves at him. One of them, Toralei Stripe, was actually in heat at the time and **desperate** to get laid, and he **_still_** resisted her!"

"Vell done, my dear!", Vera smirked maliciously. "Ve now have two possible weak-points to exploit to ensure he does not interfere: his mother and his lover. Continue to watch him, should anything else useful be learned."

"Yes, Mother", she smirked. "Um….Mother, how much longer before I can see Kenny again? I ….. **thirst** for him."

"Soon, my darling daughter", Vera said, placing a loving hand on her daughter's shoulder. Then she smirked. "And this time, you vill not have to ambush him. Simply be close by him, and he vill respond to your hypnotic call."

"I can't wait, Mother!", she smiled. "His blood….it affects me so….turning me on…it makes my body desire him **_inside_** me….."

" **You must not** , Vanna!" Vera admonished. "Not until his change is **complete!** He **must** remain **_pure_** for the ritual, do you understand?"

"Yes, Mother", she answered dejectedly.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Just to clear a few things up:**

 **My version of Dracula resembles the paintings of him from 'Frights, Camera, Action',** ** _not_** **the recent reboot of the franchise.**

 **'Tiffany' is my OC, and she is just your basic "mean-girl/Queen B". Although Lilith Van Hellscream is popular, she is** ** _not_** **part of Tiffany's crew.**

 **I base a lot of Boodika's mannerisms and attitude on my Mom, who is a Wiccan priestess. She is also the inspiration for different aspects of the different moms who have appeared thus far. Love You, Mom!**

 **Finally, I have tried to post at least one chapter per week so far. However, with the holidays here, that may not be possible. I will post as often as I can, though, so fear not!**

 **xxXXxx**


	16. Chapter 15

**_Hey, Everyone! New Chapter here! In the spirit of the holidays, this chapter has some focus on the 'Family' aspects of Duncan's life. As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. Enjoy the chapter!_**

Chapter 15

"So things are progressing well here, Barnes", Margaret told the soldier through the video chat. "Duncan's peers and teachers have accepted him and his half-human nature. I made a good impression on his friends and their parents, making a few new friends myself. Duncan has joined one of the school teams. And—most importantly—the heartache that was eating him up has truly begun to fade."

"That's great news, Margaret", Barnes replied sincerely. "But are you sure about letting either of them date **monsters**? Especially Duncan? The implications for the future could be….. ** _complicated._** "

"Barnes", she huffed, "those relationships are **why** so much progress has been made for both of them! **_Especially Duncan!_** Duncan has finally found a sense of belonging that he never had before. Monster High and his new lady have given him that, which he never got at any other school or place before. I'm starting to think I was a fool to try forcing a normal human life on him before. I don't care what your superiors say! As long as Duncan is happy, he can date anyone he wants! As for Kenny….I've **never** seen him this happy. **Ever**."

"Ok, Margaret!", Barnes surrendered. "I give up. If it's that good for the kid, then fine. What about the other half of his heritage? That still a secret?"

"With the exception of a few trusted individuals, yes", Margaret affirmed. "Most of the school still believes him to be half-human and half-dragon. However, the father of one of his friends deduced it on his own, and claims he'll keep quiet."

" **What?!** Who? And can he be trusted?"

"A mummy Pharaoh by the name of Ramses De Nile", she said. "I suspect he has his own agenda, but I also think that agenda makes keeping our secrets in his best interests."

"Ramses De Nile, huh?", Barnes smirked. "I've heard of him. He's a member of the Monster Council of Royals, just like Belloc. They govern the world's monster community. You're probably right about Ramses. Be careful."

"We will", she smiled. Pain in the ass that Barnes is, he does actually care about them. "Barnes, I need a favor for a friend?"

"Depends", he said questioningly. "What's up?"

"There was a break-in recently at a monster museum in Greece, and some artifacts were stolen", she explained. "I'd appreciate it if any MEGTAF agents, or personal friends you have could look into it?"

Barnes thought about it, looking a bit unsure. "Ok, I think I can make that happen. What's so important about these artifacts?"

"Let's just say that they're important to the monster community and leave it at that, ok?"

"Ok, Margaret. Talk to you soon", and he signed off.

A short time later, Margaret took out the crystal amulet given to her by Belloc so many years ago….. and called to him. "Belloc? Please answer if you can?"

A few moments later, a cone of light projected up from it, showing Belloc's face.

"Margaret", he greeted her in an affectionate, rumbling purr.

"Hello, Belloc", she smiled. "I thought it was time to tell you how our son is doing."

"Thank you", he rumbled. "Have our hopes been answered? Is he healing?"

"Yes", she smiled. "He's adjusting well, and feels he belongs in a way he never did before and he's truly being himself in a way he couldn't at any of his previous schools. I'm now sorry I didn't listen to you about Monster High years ago. He's even found love again…."

"Is it a mummified ghoul named Nefera?", he growled, surprising Margaret.

"No, she's a werewolf named Clawdeen", she answered, raising an eyebrow. "But he **does** know a Nefera De Nile, and I met her and her father and sister yesterday when I met many of the parents of Duncan and Kenny's friends. Her sister, Cleo, is one of his friends"

"Ramses", he growled softly. "He contacted me recently, having deduced Duncan's origins, and proposed arranging a royal marriage between Duncan and Nefera. I refused, of course, but I could not deny them the choice if she met our son and they fell in love on their own". He paused, and then laughed, " ** _HA-HA-HA!_** I **_did_** warn them that Duncan had a will and heart of his own!"

"Why that scheming, dusty old….", Margaret began to rant, and then laughed herself. "Now I know why that little princess looked _**so**_ upset to see Duncan and Clawdeen together at the cook-out!"

"They are of no concern, Margaret", Belloc snickered. "Powerful as he thinks he is, not even Ramses would dare to anger me. Tell me more about our son….and this young werewolf?"

"He loves her, and she loves him. She knows all his secrets, and loves him anyway. She got him to open up and finally let out all the pain he was carrying. It's like a tremendous weight has been lifted from him. And she's beautiful, brave, loyal, and has a kind and loving heart."

"I would expect no less", Belloc grinned. "I wish to meet her soon….after I've dealt with the current matter at hand."

"How's that going, by the way?", Margaret asked.

"I and those kaiju loyal to me have tracked down and killed all but one of those traitors that attacked your old home", he growled. "But what's more disturbing is that they are not the only traitors. Nearly a dozen more were identified, but they have scattered into hiding. And I do not know who is leading these rogues."

"Of the attackers, who was it that escaped?" Margaret asked.

"Abbadon", Belloc practically spit as he hissed the name.

"Maybe he's the leader?"

"No. Abbadon is—as you humans would say—just a bloodthirsty brute", Belloc explained. "He has neither the patience nor the cunning to lead this. Leviathan has told me that even a few sea kaiju have disappeared since Duncan killed Astoroth. Sea kaiju that had been most…... displeased with the ban on unprovoked attacks on humans."

"So this kaiju conspiracy even extends into the sea?", she asked.

"Indeed."

"Well, good luck with that", she said sincerely. Then she moved on, "Duncan did join the Monster High Scream team."

"Did he?", Belloc smirked in surprised interest. He had heard of the sport from his fellow royals, and was intrigued that his son would now be playing.

"Yes, and his first game is at the end of the week. I will be attending", she said. "I _could_ bring the crystal so you can watch?"

"Why?", he asked, not understanding.

"Human and monster fathers here often take pride in the athletic endevours of their children and attend the events to support them", she explained. "I thought…I **hoped** …you might do the same?"

This concept was foreign to Belloc. For kaiju, parental pride stemmed from a child's success in battle. Perhaps this was the same? And it **was** Belloc who had asked the Headmistress to encourage Duncan to join a team to help him hone and practice his abilities.

"Very well, bring the crystal", he said. "I shall watch."

xxXXxx

The week was progressing normally and relatively smoothly. Thursday morning found Duncan and Clawdeen walking together after getting their morning double-chocolate coffincino lattes from the creepateria.

"I really like your mom, Duncan", Clawdeen said. "She's a great lady. How did she meet your dad?"

He thought for a moment. "Is there a quiet place we can talk during our free period, where no one else is likely to interrupt? It's kinda a long story."

She thought for a moment then smiled as the bell rang for their first class.

"Meet me right here next period", she smirked. "I know just the place."

An hour later, they exited a door at the top of one of the school main towers onto a stone bridge connecting it to the other. Duncan saw many hearts with couples initials carved and/or painted into the bridge….some of them quite old, and some as new as last year.

"I thought this might be an appropriate place for you to tell me your parents love-story", Clawdeen said as she looked lovingly into his eyes.

"You might be right", he smirked. "But to tell you their story, I have to start with the Kaiju Wars…."

He told her of the battles between kaiju and the humans, and kaijus fighting each other. Some was known to her from Hiss-tory class and documentaries, and some was known only to those who were there, or told to them from those who were.

He told of how his father; Belloc, the Kaiju King, grew weary of the wars, the waste of life on both sides. And how the other monster royals, fearing the wars would eventually spill over into the greater monster community; begged him to find a way to end it for the greater good of all. He tried to reign in his people, being forced to kill his own kind at times in his efforts, but could not find a way to approach the humans to negotiate.

It was during this time that a human woman; a scholar of kaiju and monster culture, learned of his efforts to protect humans and end the wars, and she alone saw the honor and nobility of the Kaiju King, and it stirred her heart. But her superiors and MEGTAF refused to listen to her."

Clawdeen listened, in rapt attention.

"So she took it upon herself to go to a battle that was raging in San Francisco, risking her life in the chaos and destruction. Belloc defeated and killed the kaiju who had attacked in defiance of his command, but then had to fight the MEGTAF forces that had arrived and just attacked him; until my mom drove her car directly between MEGTAF and Belloc, forcing them to stop firing. Leaving her car, she stepped forward, walked up to Belloc, and offered herself to him; to hear him out, and speak for him to the world. Her courage surprised him, a trait that he values as much as honor and strength. I think it was in **that moment** , he fell in love with her. He lifted her up in his hand, and disappeared into the fog.

"MEGTAF tried and failed to find her for weeks. She finally reappeared…..walking right into MEGTAF HQ in Washington, and declared that there would be no more **unprovoked** hostilities on humans from kaiju. And she told them she was carrying Belloc's love child in her womb; his half-human heir to the Kaiju throne". He took a deep breath and smiled wryly, "And the rest, as they say, is history."

"Wow", she said with a touch of awe. "The things they leave out of the hiss-tory books."

"Yeah", he snickered. Then he smiled. "Interesting graffiti up here. Tell me about it?"

"Pretty obvious, ain't it?", she smirked. "Monster High couples have been comin' up here for years to leave their mark. You see this one?". She pointed to a fairly old heart with the initials 'CW + HL'. Duncan nodded.

"My parents", she said with a warm smile. "The legend of this bridge is that any couple that carves their declaration of love **here** , will be happy together forever."

"Really?", he said slyly. He extended his claws, getting lost in her amber eyes, which widened in happy surprise.

"Are you **_sure_** , Duncan?", she asked hopefully

"I am if you are."

Smiling, she took his hand and placed his claws in an empty spot near her own parents' mark. He carved the heart and their initials deeply into the stone: 'DR + CW'. Then he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. They turned to leave, when Duncan noticed another freshly carved mark, and smiled.

"Clawdeen, did Kenny and Frankie disappear from the dance at any time?"

"Now that you mention it, they did, just after we finished the prank on Thad", she said. "They didn't get back until at least fifteen minutes after the rest of us. Why?"

He pointed to the fresh mark he was looking at, and it made her smile too: 'KR + FS'.

"Good for them", she said. "They both deserve to be happy."

xxXXxx

After school that day, Chad caught a ride with Kenny to join Jinafire's training session. After seeing the limits and abilities of the boys, she determined what she believed to be the best training for each of them. Duncan wasn't kidding before when he said Chad was clumsy; he was almost endearingly so. Jin felt that Drunken Fist-style would work well for him with some slight modification. Kenny, however, would do fine with basic 'opera-house' kung fu; a rather 'improvisational' style.

For Duncan, she would be teaching him the arts of the Ancient Dragon Masters; the fighting forms as well as the mental and spiritual disciplines of power, clarity, balance, and control.

After training for a few hours, Margaret invited their guests to stay for dinner. After dinner, it was time to take them home: Kenny driving Chad, and Duncan giving Jin a ride on his motorcycle.

"Duncan, Kenny, may I have a moment with Chad?" Jin asked. The boys smiled knowingly and nodded as they walked away from a surprised Chad.

"W-What can I do for you, J-Jin?", he stammered shyly.

"I just want to ask you a question", she said sweetly. "Do you like me? **_Like_** me, like me?"

"Um…I….uh….", he blushed furiously as he stammered.

"Please", she smirked, "just answer honestly. I promise I won't be offended."

"Y-yes", he said softly. "I do like you. You're so smart and beautiful and kind and talented…..I just didn't know how to tell you. And I was afraid you might not like m-ffff!", he was cut off by her embrace and kiss. She even wrapped her tail around his back, to pull him closer. She broke the kiss after a few minutes and looked into his eyes.

"You have a kind and brave heart", she smiled. "And you are loyal to your friends. These are the things that matter most to me, and you have them in abundance."

She took his phone and entered her number, blowing a heart-shaped ring of smoke around his head as she handed it back. "Call me…..soon", she smirked. "Let us go, Duncan, before the Headmistress becomes concerned."

"Ok", Duncan smirked knowingly.

"Yeah, let's get you home, too, lover-boy", Kenny smirked to the still stunned and smiling Chad, grabbing his shoulder and walking him to the Jeep.

xxXXxx

Friday night at the Monster High Scream course stadium. MH students, parents, and alumni on one side, those of visiting Vampire Prep on the other. In the Headmistress' Box, Bloodgood played host to the teachers, the Headmistress of VP, and two special guests: Margaret Rosenblatt and Ken Rogers. Bloodgood was aware of the crystal amulet, as it was that very stone that enabled Belloc to speak with her when Margaret met with her before school started. She was gratified that the boy's father was taking an active interest.

Belloc watched the image in the crystal formation of his lair with interest, having never seen human or monster sports before. He had heard that Scream in particular was grueling; pushing the physical and strategic abilities of the players. While he found all the pomp and circumstance a waste of time, he waited to watch the actual game with great interest.

"Tonight, we won the coin flip, so **we** get to choose the mode of play", Clawd told the team.

"The Vampires prefer the single 'Cannonball Run'; one mad dash through to the finish-line", Robecca said. "It plays to their speed and agility, and doesn't push their endurance. I think we should go with 'Triple Threat'; three runs through the maze."

"I think you're right, Robecca", Lagoona agreed.

"Mmmhmmhm, yeah!", Manny said. "Even with rotating players each heat, the randomness of the course will play against them."

"Y'all got that right", Operetta smirked.

"The Nightmares choose 'Triple Threat'!", Clawd called out to the ref. Then he turned back to the team. "Ok, Manny, Lagoona, and Gil? You're up first. Remember, they like to use a lot of 'sling-shot'-type moves."

The three took the starting position, along with the first trio of vampires. At the sound of the starting horn, they were off. The bat-cams and stationary course cameras showed all the action from the various maze levels and corridors on the large screens in the stadium. The various moves of the vampires kept up the pressure on the home team, but Manny and Gil were able to block for Lagoona enough for her to cross the finish line to win the first heat.

"Deuce? Rochelle? You're both with me this round", Clawd said, as he led them to the starting position.

Meanwhile, the Fear-Leading Squad performed, leading the MH supporters in cheering for the team, and Nefera and Clawdeen both looked at Duncan every chance they could. However, he only looked back at Clawdeen with loving smiles and waves from the team bench. The squad appeared on the big screens now and then, especially when they pulled off major moves in a routine.

'That must be her', Belloc thought to himself with a small smile when he saw Clawdeen. 'I can see why Duncan is drawn to her; she has a powerful spirit. Excellent.'

This time the Vampires managed to win the heat when their captain just barely crossed the finish before Rochelle and Clawd. Growling, Clawd returned to the MH bench.

"It's all tied up, time pull out our best. Robecca, Operetta, and Duncan, you're up", Clawd said.

"We got this, Captain", Duncan assured him as Robecca winked.

The Vampires also pulled out their best; one fast/graceful ghoul, the mid-sized captain repeating, and their biggest player; who smirked at Duncan as they got set at the starting mark.

"I seen that she-wolf fear-leader makin' goo-goo eyes at ya all nite, punk", he smirked. "Kinda cute… for a **dog!** After you eat my dust and we take the win, maybe I'll put her on a leash and show her a good time!"

'He's just trying to rile me, get me off my game', Duncan thought as he glared at the bloodsucker, then he laughed. "Dream on, leech. I wouldn't need to do a thing to stop you…..because she'd **gut** you where you stood if you tried!"

Then the horn blared for the third and final heat of the race. Even before the racers entered the tunnels, the two sides were jostling for position. Finally, the vampires pulled slightly ahead and were slowly widening their lead, even as they all traversed a large chamber of moving and rotating spiked pillars and rails. They all dodged and weaved their way through. As the big vamp valted over the final rail, he shoved Duncan towards a pillar; hoping to knock him out of the race, but Duncan simply smashed through it with his fist. However, he lost a little ground, forcing him to use his wings to add speed and catch up.

The female vamp managed to muscle past Operetta, tripping her up. Duncan helped her up on the fly, while she used her Sonic-song wave to blast a hanging rock down into the she-vamps path, tripping her. However, her captain helped her up easily.

The Vamps still had the lead as they entered the flame-thrower chamber, and Duncan grinned.

"Robecca! Take the lead! Operetta, I'll shield you!", he called out. The fire-resistant Robecca took position in front of them while Duncan protected Operetta from the flames with his wings. Increasing speed and not needing to dodge the blasts of fire, they almost caught up to the vampires.

After another series of tunnels, they came to the kraken chamber, and the beast's tentacles were ready and waiting. The vampires gracefully dodged around them across the narrow stone bridge.

"Ghouls! Duck!", Duncan called, and exhaled a blast of fire over their heads as they ducked. The tentacles withdrew from the flames into the water, as they did during try-outs. The big vamp saw them closing the gap, and decided to smash the bridge. Robecca activated her rocket-boots while Duncan grabbed Operetta, and they flew over the broken section, then skating into the tunnels to the last stretch to the finish.

"It's all or nothing!", Robecca called out, and they poured on the speed. They caught up to the vamps, and it was an all-out dash for the finish-line. The she-vamp was able to keep Operetta contained, but Robecca maneuvered around the vamp captain….until the big one shoulder-checked her into a wall. Operetta slowed to help her, while Duncan surged forward, and powered his way through 'Tiny' and the captain just as they came out of the tunnel, and crossed the finish first. Monster High had won!

"M-O-N-S-T-E-R! Monsters-Monsters-Yes-We Are!", the squad cheered as they formed a pyramid flawlessly. "We are Monsters, We are Proud! We are Monsters, Say it Loud!"

Watching via crystal from his lair, Belloc was proud of his son, and intrigued by this 'Scream' sport. He saw how it tested Duncan's abilities and skills.

'I think I like this sport', he thought to himself with a smirk. 'I must watch Duncan whenever I am able.'

As everyone came to congratulate Duncan, Clawdeen jumped into his arms, kissing him; much to the chagrin of Nefera. His teammates, family, teachers and Bloodgood all came down to join the celebration.

"Duncan", Clawd said with a true smile, "I think we all agree that you were the MVP tonight! Not bad for your first race! And we have something for you." He pulled from behind his back; a Monster High letterman jacket with the sleeves removed and the back modified to accommodate his wings. Clawdeen smiled proudly.

"I altered it to survive your transformations", she said. "I hope you like it?"

"I love it, Clawdeen", he smiled, making her blush. "Thank you. Thank all of you!"

"Duncan!", Margaret said as she pulled him into a hug. "I'm so proud of you!", then she whispered in his ear while holding the amulet, "And so is your father."

"Me, too, Bro!", Kenny said with a fist-bump, just before Frankie wrapped him in a hug. "That was sssoooo epic!"

"Duncan, did you already tell Jin about your camping trip this weekend?", Margaret asked.

"Yeah, Mom", he replied. "She's still coming over to train with Kenny and Chad."

"Camping, Duncan?", Clawdeen asked.

"Yeah", he said sheepishly. "Every now and then, I like to spend a night or two alone out in the quiet of nature; do a little fishing, y'know?"

"I hear you", she smirked. "Switch out fishing for hunting, and a lot of werewolves do the same. Even my family and I, on rare occasions. Let me guess; your 'secret place'?"

"Yup", he smirked. "There's a stream full of trout and catfish nearby. I bring everything else I need with me."

' **Everything** , huh?', she smirked to herself. 'I can think of something else for you."

xxXXxx

On the way home, Clawdeen was thinking of her plan. She had it worked out by the time they arrived at the Wolf home. After Clawd kissed Draculaura good-night and headed inside, Clawdeen turned to her Beast Friend Forever.

"I need your help with somethin', Draculaura", she said.

"Sure! What's up?", the perky vampire asked.

"I need my family to think I'm going to your house tomorrow for the weekend, ok?"

"Sure, ok", Draculaura said, puzzled at first. Then her eyes widened and she grinned slyly. "Why, Clawdeen Wolf! Are you thinking **naughty** thoughts? Maybe about a certain monster who will be at a certain camp-site this week-end?"

"Shhhhhh!", Clawdeen smirked. "I'll never tell!"

"And neither will I!", the vampire smiled back. "Go for it, Bestie!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: I confess to taking a bit of artistic license with how SKRM(Scream) is played, and I hope everyone likes how I handled Duncan's first race!**

 **I also thought it was time for the love-story of Duncan's parents to be told. And when I saw "Boo York, Boo York" and saw all the love carvings on the tower bridge when Catty Noir went up there singing, I just HAD to use it!**

 **Since we haven't seen or heard from Belloc since his conversation with Ramses De Nile, I thought it was time for him and Margaret to talk and update each other, after her regular report to Barnes at MEGTAF. Just to be clear; Margaret still loves Belloc, and considers herself to be his wife/mate, feelings shared by the Kaiju King. And just in case anyone missed it; Belloc approves of Clawdeen as a potential mate for his son.**

 **Speaking of Clawdeen, some major stuff is coming for her in the next chapter!**

 **Suggestions and reviews are always welcome, the longer the better! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	17. Chapter 16: The Alpha Moon

**_Hey, Everyone! My OC's in this chapter are heavily inspired by characters from "Balto II: Wolf Quest"; Fenris Silvermane is inspired by Nava(voiced by the late, great David Carradine. RIP, Sensei), while Remus Darkclaw is inspired by Niju(voiced by Mark Hamill, greatest voice of the Joker EVER!). As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High, nor do I own Danny Phantom._**

Chapter 16: The Alpha Moon

It was noon, and Duncan had just flown off to his secret place for his camping trip. Kenny had helped him load up his supplies and pack his gear. Jinafire had volunteered to pick up Chad for their training session this afternoon, leaving him free to chill out and surf the web on his laptop. He was so relaxed that the gonging of the doorbell made him jump almost out of his skin. He heard Margaret answer the door, but couldn't hear the verbal exchange.

"Kenny!", she called cheerfully. "You have a guest!"

"Ok! I'll be right there!", he called as he stepped out the door and went downstairs….to see a smiling Frankie wave to him!

"Frankie!", he smiled widely.

"Hey, Kenny!", She returned his smile as she gave him a hug and kiss. "I hope you don't mind, but Jin said I could watch you train today."

"Mind? I don't mind at all!", he smirked. "I'm always happy to see you!"

She blushed furiously and kissed him again. Then he heard his laptop notifying of an incoming video call.

"That's weird", he said. "Mom, is it cool for Frankie to hang with me in my room?"

Smiling, Margaret made a 'shooing' motion, and Kenny led Frankie upstairs.

"Do you mind if I get this, Frankie?", he asked politely, pointing to the video call ringing on his computer.

"Not at all, Kenny."

He grinned as he answered the video-call, then was shocked to see his oldest friend on-screen.

"What up, Superstar?", the girl asked cheerfully.

"Isabel?! Wow! We haven't heard from you since before we moved! How you been?"

"Same as you, Kenny: busy-busy!", the cute brown-haired girl said. "The town is pretty much rebuilt and the school just re-opened." Then her voice took a more serious tone. "How's Duncan holding up?"

"He's good and getting better, actually!", Kenny smirked. "Monster High really agrees with him! He's got a lot of new friends, he's on a sports team….he even found love again! And his ghoulfriend is great; a pretty werewolf named Clawdeen."

"That's great, Kenny! Thank goodness he's healing after…. Well, I kept meaning to call long before now, but you know how stuff happens. Speaking of….", she smirked, "I saw on your face-page that your status changed from 'single' to 'in a relationship'. Care to enlighten your best friend here?"

"Wow, talk about timing", Kenny said with surprise, and smiling reached out to Frankie; who joined him in front of the screen. "Frankie, this is Isabel; she's been my best friend since we were little kids. Isabel, this is Frankie; my ghoulfriend."

"Hi!", Frankie said perkily with a shy smile.

"Whoooooaaaa!", Isabel said in delighted surprise. "You're a **monster!** ** _Unreal!_** "

"Uh….thanks?"

"It's ok, Frankie", Kenny assured her. "Isabel **loves** monsters and kaiju and stuff; always has. She's a **major** fan-girl."

"He does not lie, Frankie", Isabel said with a kind smile. "Please excuse my enthusiasm, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's ok", Frankie assured her with a smile. "Voltageous to meet you. I've got a few other normie friends, and I'm **always** happy to make new friends; monster or normie."

"Well, you've got a new one right here, Frankie", Isabel said sincerely. "Kenny's like a brother to me, so any girlfriend of his is a sister of mine! As long as you don't break his heart; you and me are good."

"Thanks", Frankie replied as she laid her head lovingly onto Kenny's shoulder. "There's no danger of that here."

"Oh, you two are sssoooo cute together! Ok, tell me your love-story?"

xxXXxx

It was mid-afternoon by the time Duncan finished setting up his campsite. His bed-roll was next to the fire-pit at the entrance to the cave, opposite the 'sitting-log'. His dried foods and cooking stuff were set and ready for use. Now he was down by the stream, shirtless, poised to catch any trout or catfish that might appear. He had learned that bare-handed fishing was a fun and nourishing way to work on his reflexes. He had caught several fish already, when he heard a soft scraping on the rocks behind him. He started to turn to look, when he was tackled to the ground. After a brief tumble from the impact, he found himself pinned to the ground looking up into the pair of beautiful amber eyes that he loved so much.

"Clawdeen?!"

"Pinned ya!" she laughed. "And I **finally** snuck up on you, Hot-Stuff!"

"What are you doing here?" he asked, smirking as she helped him up. He looked appreciatively at her 'roughing-it' clothes; pleated black-jean mini-skirt and a loose purple sweatshirt cut short-sleeve, off-the-shoulder collarless, and exposing her mid-rift. The boots she was wearing over her knee-high purple socks seemed to be a cross between hiking boots and sexy high-wedges.

"Uh… **Joining** you. Duh", she smirked deadpan, inwardly drooling over his bare chest. "I heard the call of the wild, so I'm here with you until you're ready to head home."

"Uuuuhhh….ok, but does your family know you're here?"

"They think I'm at Draculaura's for the weekend again", she winked. "Don't worry, I brought a couple big blankets, marshmallows, hot cocoa mix, fruit, nuts, and on the way here I caught a rabbit."

"Wow, you came prepared", he smirked. "Well, with my fish and your rabbit, we've got the makings of a nice surf & turf dinner."

"Tell ya what, Handsome", she smiled, giving him a kiss. "I'll go forage for some wild veggies while you catch a few more fish. Then while you clean the fish, I'll dress the rabbit. Deal?"

"You got it, Babe", he kissed her back to seal the deal. She giggled as she ran off.

(around 6pm)

Fish fried in a pan, rabbit roasted on a spit, and a spicy stew made with a combo of dried and wild veggies and potatoes; all cooked over the open fire-pit, easily lit by Duncan's fire-breath.

"Mmmmmm…yummy", Clawdeen moaned with satisfaction as she cleaned her plate. "Kitchen, grill, and now campfire…You are a **fangtastic** cook! I knew I fell in love with the right boo." Duncan smiled lovingly.

"Didn't I hear you say something about marshmallows?", he asked innocently. "Because I've got skewers."

"Sweet", she smirked as she reached for the marshmallows. They each skewered one and snuggled together to toast them. Clawdeen leaned her head onto Duncan's shoulder, and he leaned his head onto hers.

 **(at the same time, different time-zone; just before mid-night, on the Mountains of the Moon)**

Fenris Silvermane was feeling his five hundred years deep in his bones; and truth be told, he was relieved that the time had finally come as he stepped into the Temple of the Moon and looked up at the open sky; to the stars and the full moon. He joined the assembled council of Elder Alphas and Betas for the ceremony of the Alpha Moon. Most of the younger members were of the more human-like form that was common to werewolves of the world; a form that made for easier interaction with other monsters and normies. However, he and his inner-circle, and the older members of the council, opted for a more canine appearance, while still retaining walking upright. As the Alpha of Alphas, his robes were more ornate than his fellows, and his silver and white fur glinted in the moonlight.

"About time, Old One", a black & grey furred canine-faced werewolf growled. "Let's get on with this. You have grown weak, and my destiny awaits. As the new Alpha, I will lead our people with **strength** , not foolish dreams!"

"Remus", Fenris said to his former apprentice in a firm tone, "show respect for this sacred ceremony… and for all those gathered here with us. I admire your passion, Remus, but do **_not_** mistake my old age for weakness, nor your youth for strength." He then stepped up to the altar, where rested the Great Moonstone, as Remus growled but backed down.

"Brothers and sisters", he called out to all. "My time as your Alpha is drawing to an end. Tonight, the Great Mother of us all will choose my successor."

Remus grinned. He had been training for nearly a century for this! Most of those years were under the tutelage of Fenris himself. He knew he was the strongest of all their kind in the world. By the time Fenris realized Remus' true nature, it was too late; he was already established into the council. When the Moon was directly over the stone, it would reveal him as the next Alpha! And he would restore the strength and pride of their people!

As the Alpha Moon rose to position directly overhead, Fenris raised his arms, palms up, in supplication.

"Great Mother, please reveal to us our new Alpha!", he called up to the heavens.

A beam of moonlight shone down upon the stone, and the stone began to glow. An image began to form in the glowing aura.

"NO! IT **_CANNOT_** BE!", Remus snarled. "THIS IS **MY** DESTINY!"

"Our Mother has spoken", Fenris said, with a slightly smug smile. "The choice is made."

"A female?! And a **_child_** at that?!", Remus growled. "This **cannot** be true!"

"You **dare** question the wisdom of the Great Mother of us all?", Fenris growled, pointing to the Moon. Remus snarled, but did not answer as he stalked away.

"Now, all of you, please leave me", Fenris said to the council. "As Alpha, the rest of this task falls to me alone. I must consult the Moonstone, and learn as much as I can about our new Alpha before I go meet her."

'Watch all you like, Old One', Remus thought. 'I **_will_** find a way to **take back** my rightful destiny!'

xxXXxx

(Later that Night)

(Amity Park, the Fenton home)

Danny Fenton (aka-Danny Phantom, the new King of Ghosts) dozed off watching TV, and he had a strange dream: he was sitting in his place at the table of the Monster Council of Royals, and Fenris Silvermane was across from him. The elder werewolf had been very welcoming when Danny first became King of Ghosts. Danny liked the old werewolf and valued his experience as a royal. But Fenris seemed to be stepping back into the mist, and a young female werewolf stepped forward, looking very unsure of herself, but determined.

Danny woke with a start. "There's a new Alpha. This is just like when the new Vampire Queen ascended her throne several months ago. Belloc wasn't kidding when he told me that Royals can sense the presence of other Royals, and know when a new head has been crowned."

(Transylvania, the Vampire Court)

Elizzabat Stoker, new Queen of the Vampires and Hauntlywood boovie star, had just finished with affairs of state and was now going over the script of her next boovie, when her vision clouded. She saw a vision of the kind Alpha of the werewolves, Fenris Silvermane, who shared her dream of monster unity and unity with the normies. He had been so supportive when she took her place at the Council. And now her vision showed him guiding a young werewolf who looked familiar.

"My queen", her handmaiden called as she entered, breaking Elizzabat from her vision.

"Yes?"

"Forgive me for disturbing you, but the Ministers would like a word?"

"Of course", she replied as she rose from her throne.

'I had forgotten that tonight was the Alpha Moon', she thought sadly to herself as she walked. 'Fenris' time must be near an end. I hope he will advise his successor until his spirit "returns to the Mother Moon". I will miss him when he is gone.'

(the cavern lair of Belloc, King of the Kaiju)

Belloc awakens from a visionless dream, with mixed emotions. He knows his old friend on the council is stepping down in favor of the new chosen Alpha; a female, a rare occurrence.

"So, old Fenris' time as Alpha is ending, and he shall mentor his successor in what little time he has left", he rumbled to himself. He bowed his head. He would miss the wisdom of the old wolf. Then he laughed.

"That hate-mongering Remus must be beside himself with anger at being denied his 'destiny'! Strong as he is, he's not worthy and never would be!"

(New Salem, the De Nile pyramid)

Ramses wakes suddenly from his meditation. No vision, but a strong impression from the ether.

"So, Silvermane's age has caught up with him…. just in time for the Alpha Moon. A new Alpha of Werewolves has been chosen. A pity. He's been a trifle idealistic, but a wise and fair leader for his people. Even after leading battles against the vampires for two centuries, he finally saw the waste of hate; and sued for peace. I respect him for that."

Around the world, Monster Royals all felt the change in some way, some more than others, but all knew one thing: the werewolves had a new Alpha.

xxXXxx

(a little before 8 pm, the camp-site)

Duncan and Clawdeen held each other as they stood watching the full-moon rise, and bathed in the beautiful light as it shown into the cave, right onto their-now shared-bed-roll.

"Is it just me, or does the moon look particularly big and bright tonight?", Duncan asked with his arm around her shoulders.

"It's not just you", Clawdeen replied as she held him close. "This is the Alpha Moon. It rises like this only once a century, and chooses a new Alpha of Werewolves if need-be. Rumor among the packs for the past decade is that this one will choose a new Alpha, because our current Alpha is over five hundred years old, and feeling his age. It's a shame, too. He's done so much for all monster-kind."

"Alpha?", Duncan asked.

"An Alpha is a leader", she explained. "Every family has one, and every pack has one. My dad is the Alpha of our family and the local pack. The Alpha of Alphas is the leader of all the world's werewolves. Kinda like how your dad is King of all Kaiju, but he has regional leaders who answer to him?"

"Ah! Ok", he said, understanding. Then he smirked. "Still, it's a beautiful view", he said warmly as he leaned in to kiss her deeply.

"Mmmm-hmmm", she hummed as they kissed. "And romantic."

Under the light of the Alpha Moon, they began to get lost in their make-out session. Duncan loved how soft her lips were, like silk or satin. While at the same time her tongue was strong and aggressive, yet still like wet velvet. He began to kiss down her neck, which made her moan with pleasure as she melted into his arms. She caressed his bare chest, feeling the strong muscles under the hard-yet-soft scales of his chest. He crushed his lips to hers again as he ran his hands up her back, sliding under her half-shirt, delighting in the feel of her velvet-fine fur, and the firm muscles underneath.

The need for air forced them to break the kiss. They got lost in each other's eyes again before again locking lips and wrestling tongues in a series of kisses, while their hands roamed over each other's bodies. Duncan began to kiss, lick and nibble his way down her neck, causing her to moan with pleasure and melt deeper into his arms, before she followed suit on his neck; his scales allowing her to be even more aggressive with her teeth to his pleasure. They were getting lost in their growing passion….fueled by their love. Their primal natures surging, her moaning merged with a growling purr as her claws came out along with his kaiju features…..they were embracing their most primal instincts as they embraced each other.

She pushed away from him, looking deep into his eyes as she threw off her top and reached behind and unzipped her skirt, letting it fall around her ankles. She stood before him with only her black lacey bra and thong covering her generous curves and hourglass figure. He stared with passion at the ghoul he loved as she stepped seductively toward him and reached for the belt holding up his cargo-shorts….

xxXXxx

Clawdeen awoke snuggled up to Duncan's sleeping form, and lifted her head from his chest, and looked out the wide entrance of the cave to see the Alpha Moon was now high in the sky. She slowly got up so as not to disturb her lover, wrapped a blanket around her naked form and stepped out to look up at the Great Mother, or Luna, as her family and pack called the Moon.

'Thank you', she prayed. 'I never been so happy. Please let this last forever.'

"Clawdeen?", Duncan yawned. "Are you ok?"

"Sure, Duncan", she smiled lovingly. "I'm just looking at the Moon….and thanking her for bringing us together."

He smiled warmly. "Cool, but come back to bed?", he asked. "I miss you already."

She smiled and rejoined him, cuddling up to his chest again after sharing a deep kiss. He pulled the blankets up around them, and they both reveled in the warmth of each other.

"Clawdeen, I have a confession to make", he said hesitantly. "You….you're my first."

She found what he said and how he said it so adorable and endearing, and it made her feel so happy and privileged…..and relieved that it wasn't just her.

"You're my first, too, Duncan", she admitted with a smile. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Clawdeen", he smiled as he pulled her closer, and they slipped into peaceful sleep together.

xxXXxx

Fenris had learned a great deal about the new Alpha from the Moonstone, and all of it evidence of why the Great Mother chose her. She was strong of will and courage, fiercely loyal to not only her family and pack but also her friends and values. She was 'street-smart', had dreams of being a fashion designer and the talent to do it. Her friends included many different monster species, hybrids, and even normies. Her beast friend was a vampire, and that vampire best friend was the ghoulfriend of her twin brother. She was a student at Monster High, whose Headmistress was known for actively advocating for monster/normie unity. She had courageously endured many dangerous adventures with her friends and siblings. Most recently, she had unexpectedly found love.

With the sun about to rise, and fatigue about to claim him, he turned from the Stone to rest in his quarters. But then the glow of the Moonstone flared behind him, as the Great Mother told him something significant. He smiled knowingly, and with some relief; as it closed the door on one option that Remus had to interfere.

"She has chosen and bonded with her life-mate."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Hey, Everyone. I promised big things for Clawdeen in this chapter, didn't I? I'm pretty sure I delivered!**

 **I also wanted to show a bit more about the Monster Council of Royals, and the differences in how some Royals gain their status. Danny Phantom defeated Pariah Dark in battle, Ramses was born a Royal, Elizzabat was destined(watch 'Frights, Camera, Action' for that story), etc. So it made sense to me that the Werewolfes a) were led by an Alpha, and b) the Moon would be involved. I hope you all like how I handled this, and how Fenris Silvermane stepping down is affecting the other Royals(to Alyssa Rider; the Danny Phantom scene is a shout-out to you and your work!). And just to be clear; for those not already immortal, becoming a Royal grants a much longer life-span; something that will be explained later.**

 **Duncan and Clawdeen consummating their love! About bloody time, right?! Plus, little do they know right now, that their love-bond combined with the blood-bond they made the first time they made-out (on the scaris wheel, remember when they unwittingly shared blood?) and making love under the light of the full Moon, they are now bonded for life as mates. Somehow I don't think either of them will mind! LOL! This will be** ** _very_** **important later! I will be posting the 'censored' part of their evening shortly in my rated 'M' work: "You Make Lemonade", which is where I will post all such events from all my works as they are written. I already posted what happened in the Wardrobe Closet between Thad and Jinx there! Check it out if you are of age!**

 **And to avoid upsetting any feminist readers(nothing but respect, Ladies!) I may have, Clawdeen** ** _will_** **continue to pursue her dream of being a fashion designer alongside Jinafire and Skelita. Afterall, if Elizzabat can be Queen and a boovie star, then Clawdeen can be Alpha and a fashion designer, right?**

 **Leave long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	18. Chapter 17

**_Hey, Everyone! I'm kinda surprised that I'm still able to post this often given the hectic holidays! As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. I also do not own the Danny Phantom character "Ember McLain", and the Hex Girls song in this chapter was originally sung by the Hex Girls in "Scooby Doo and the Witches Ghost". Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!_**

Chapter 17

Early Sunday morning, and Claire was trying to sleep in, but she was shivering. That didn't make sense, as she could feel herself snuggled deep into her blankets. She groggily sat up. Yup, she had her blankets over her, so why….? Whatever. She went to lay back down, and noticed her pillows and bed were four feet below her!

"What the…..?!", and she suddenly fell down onto her bed! She sat up as her covers fluttered back down onto her head. Half-panicked, she uncovered her head and looked closely at her bed and patted herself down to ensure she was awake and ok.

"Was I really just floating in mid-air?!", she thought to herself. "No way, impossible. I must've been dreaming."

xxXXxx

A chocolaty scent was tantalizing Clawdeen in her sleep, gently prodding her towards waking; until she felt a sweet, cocoa flavored kiss fully bring her to reality.

"Mornin', Gore-geous", Duncan smirked. "I knew True Loves Kiss would wake my Princess. Well, that and a fresh hot cup of cocoa."

"Mmmmm", she hummed after taking a deep sniff of the delicious scent, and reaching for the cup he was holding out. "Gimme! And you are sssoooo lucky that I love you. My family will tell you; I **_hate_** being woken up."

"I'll keep that in mind for the future!", he snickered. "Well, thanks to you, we have a breakfast of fruit and nuts ready to go. But I could catch some fish if you want….?"

"Nuh-uh!",she smiled. "You stay right here with me! A breakfast of cocoa, fruit, and nuts while snugglin' with my boo sounds just perfect to me right now." This made him smile contentedly as he sat back down next to her with their breakfast by the fire. Each of them felt a level of contentment and happiness that neither had ever experienced before.

"We should start heading back around noon", he said. "But that gives us most of the morning together before we have to pack up our stuff."

"Well then, let's finish eating so we can have some 'breakfast-in-bed', ok, Handsome?" she smirked suggestively, reaching for a green apple.

"Sounds good to me", he winked, as he munched on a handful of roasted peanuts and almonds between bites of apple and charcoal.

xxXXxx

Clawdeen arrived back at New Castle Dracula that afternoon. She had wanted to hike out the same as she had hiked in. Fashionista city ghoul she may be, but she just wanted to enjoy a little nature as her ancestors did. Thankfully, Draculaura's dad was still sleeping in his coffin.

"You got back just in time!", Draculaura said. "Clawd just called. I told him you were in the shower. Apparently, your pack is meeting; something about an alphabet moon?"

"The Alpha Moon was last night", Clawdeen said. "The packs are worried about who the new Alpha of all werewolves will be. If a new Alpha was chosen last night, then they will be confirmed and receive their full powers at the next full moon. We all just hope that it will be someone who believes as the old Alpha does….in peace."

"Wow, I hope so, too! Well, your dad wants you home right away to attend the meeting."

"Then I better shower quick!", Clawdeen said, shedding her clothes as she headed for Draculaura's private bathroom. "And I need the clean clothes I left here!"

"Why is that so import….?" she started to ask, then she caught an unusual musky scent curling off of her friend, and her eyes widened. "Oh….My….Ghoul! Clawdeen, did you and Duncan…?!"

Clawdeen blushed, her smile touching her sparkling eyes, as she nodded.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEE!", the vampire squealed as she practically bounced up and down hugging her friend.

"Whoa, Bestie!", Clawdeen said to calm her friend. "Keep it on the down-low or my dad will ground me for the rest of my unlife!"

Draculaura made a 'zipper' motion over her mouth. "But as your Beast Friend Forever….. ** _please_** tell me everything?!"

"It was sssoooo **_wonderful_** ", Clawdeen said softly, a dreamy look in her eyes as she turned on the shower. "When I arrived at his camp, I **finally** managed to sneak up on him! Took him by surprise and pinned him to the ground while he was fishing. We figured out dinner—he's a fangtastic cook BTW!—and toasted some marshmallows. Then we watched the moon rise together….so romantic, it was magical."

Draculaura sat on the stool in her bathroom, hanging on every word, then Clawdeen's dreamy look gained a naughty glint and her voice got a little husky, as she stepped into the shower. "And then…."

xxXXxx

When Duncan got home, he quickly dumped his gear, grabbed some gauze and tape from the first-aid kit, greeted his family, then rushed to the garage work-shop. Kenny and Margaret were perplexed, but every time they tried to question Duncan, he assured them he was fine and gently 'shooed' them out of the work-shop.

"Whatever he's making must be important", Kenny said.

"I guess so", Margaret replied, just before hearing a slightly pained grunt from Duncan. They rushed to see if he was alright, only to see him applying a bandage to a spot directly over his heart.

"Duncan?", she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Mom", he assured her with a smile. "I just needed this", he pointed to a red-tinged orange scale on the work-bench beside what appeared to be the makings of a pendant and necklace.

"Bro, did you just pull one of your own scales off your chest?!", Kenny asked, a bit incredulous.

"It's ok, I'll grow a replacement in a few days. No big deal", he said.

"I trust you know what you're doing, Duncan", Margaret said dubiously. "But **why** did you do that?"

"It's a gift", he smirked. "For Clawdeen."

xxXXxx

Monday morning, Clawdeen was heading to the creepateria to meet Duncan so they could get their morning double-mocha coffinchino lattes before classes start. She was thinking about the meeting of the local pack the day before; every local werewolf over the age of sixteen. Her sister Howleen had been allowed to attend as the pack-leader's daughter, despite being only fifteen, and chose to sit with her boyfriend, Romulus.

The concerns of the pack were many, and likely reflected those of most packs around the world. The difference being that their pack, having Monster High in their territory, would be among the first to be impacted by any changes. Many prayed that Fenris Silvermane's former apprentice and Beta; Remus Darkclaw, was **not** chosen as he was very likely to start up the Werewolf/Vampire war again. If that happened, then Monster High and New Salem would become a battleground!

Clawdeen was so lost in thought, that Duncan was able to greet her and hand her her latte unnoticed.

"Hey, Gore-geous!", he prodded before he kissed her, breaking her trance. "Are you in there?"

"Sorry, Sweetie. A lot on my mind", she said sheepishly, then playfully slapped his shoulder. "And don't be such a smart-ass!"

"If I wasn't a smart-ass, I wouldn't be **me** ", he grinned. "And admit it; you wouldn't have me any other way."

"Yeah, you're right", she smirked, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"So what's got you so distracted today?", he asked.

She sighed, and told him about the pack meeting the previous day.

"This 'Remus' sounds like a real piece of work", he said thoughtfully. "Reminds me of some of the kaiju who hate that my dad won't let them 'exterminate the human vermin infesting the world', and want me dead."

"Yeah, he's really angry", she said. "Rumor has it that his whole family was killed during the last Werewolf/Vampire War, when Lord Stoker was still leading the Vampire Nation. He was too young to join the war then, and by the time he could, our Alpha had arranged a peace treaty to end it. But how and why Remus then became the Beta and apprentice to our Alpha I don't know."

Duncan understood the fears of the werewolves. He himself was born partly to end the Human/Kaiju War. The chance that a new leader could drag them all back into a destructive war was scary even to the bravest, and he could see it on her face.

"Well, maybe this will cheer you up?", he said, as he reached into his pocket and took out a small box.

"That ain't a ring, is it?", she asked snarkily.

"No", he snickered, "but it ** _is_** something special…..for **you**."

She opened it to find a silver pendant on a thin leather thong necklace. The pendant was winged-heart within a crescent moon and contained a translucent orange stone tinted slightly red that looked familiar somehow.

"It's beautiful, Duncan. Thank you", she smiled, just before she hugged him tightly. She jumped back in surprise when he winced painfully.

"Don't worry", he assured her as she was about to ask what was wrong. He gently pointed to his chest. "I'm ok. I'll grow a new one in a day or two."

That's when she realized: the stone was a **scale** ….one of **his** scales! She grabbed the hem of his shirt and gently lifted it, to reveal a bandage directly over his heart.

"I give you my heart, Clawdeen Wolf", he smiled lovingly. "Always."

Tears came to her eyes. She had never before received such a personal gift of the heart...literally. She was speechless as he put it around her neck. She hugged him, more gently this time.

"I love you, Duncan", she said, before kissing him deeply.

"I love you, too, Clawdeen", he replied with a smile. "We better get going if we want to fang out with our friends before class."

When they reached the fountain, all the ghouls gushed over Duncan's gift. The guys were impressed and each asked Duncan to help them figure out similar gifts for their ghoulfriends; even Neighthan, who had arrived with Avia. The two looked happy together; holding hands and Avia leaning her head on Neighthan's shoulder.

The love-fest ended though when Robecca spoke up.

"This week's Scream race is going to be tough.", she said. "Haunted High has entered a team in the league this year, and they won their first game last week easily. They're our next opponents."

"Great!", Gil griped. "A team of ghosts who can just phase through all the obstacles!"

"Well, we can't really hold that against them, Gil", Duncan said. " **All** the teams use their abilities for an edge. Werewolf Academy uses their athleticism, Vampire Prep speed and agility, Gargoyles of Granite City strength and durability, even us. In fact, in a way we have a bigger advantage by having a variety of powers and abilities on our team; aside from strength, speed and athleticism from our core members, you and Lagoona can swim ahead if you get knocked into any water hazards, I can use my fire powers, and Operetta can use her sonic voice. As long as they follow the rules, we can't fault them for playing to their strengths like everyone else."

"He's right, Mate", Lagoona said gently to Gil.

"It just means we have to train and try harder", Clawd said firmly. "Is everyone up for extending practice a bit later for the week? Maybe we can figure out some new strategies as well as work on overall speed to even the odds against the ghosts." Everyone agreed.

xxXXxx

"Oh, Clawdeen?"

Clawdeen cringed and stifled a growl at the sound of Nefera's voice. She realized that her friends were right, and that openly attacking the mummy would be a mistake, so she avoided her as much as possible. But being on the squad made completely avoiding her impossible.

"Yeah, 'Coach', what do you need?", she deadpanned.

"You and Jinx are the foundation of the pyramid, which has been looking a bit shaky", Nefera said. "So from now on for the next few weeks, I want the two of you to be strength training for an extra half hour after every practice. I want the pyramid looking rock-solid by the time the quarter finals come around."

"You're kiddin' me, right?" Clawdeen deadpanned, suspicious of her 'coach'. "I was being the bottom of the pyramid by myself up to now! Why would it be harder with Jinx? It makes no sense. You sure you don't have tomb sand in your eyes?"

"Adding Jinx changed the balance and execution of the pyramid. I know what I'm talking about", Nefera said, then her eyes narrowed. "So do as you're told."

"Fine, 'Coach', whatever you say", Clawdeen said, with every intention to bring this up with the squad later when Nefera wasn't around.

"Good. See you at practice", Nefera smirked. Excellent! Taking away time and energy Clawdeen could spend with Duncan was a start. But she had to work on him somehow as well. She grinned as she schemed.

xxXXxx

Boodika La Fey was perplexed. Twice now since coming to Monster High, she had sensed a tiny magickal disturbance in the ether. But they had not come from the 'monster' side of town. She had been right before when she sensed 13 potentials in New Salem. It was becoming clear that the last one was living as a normie and unaware of their emerging powers.

"This could be very problematic", the Headmistress said when the witch explained. "And potentially dangerous for this young magick user."

"More than you realize, Grace", Boodika said. "The magick will build up inside the longer it is denied, until eventually a flare-up could expose him or her publicly, possibly dangerously. I am trying to find them by every means at my disposal, but I might not succeed before it is too late. If they should accidentally injure someone publicly….."

"It would be a disaster", Bloodgood agreed. Then an idea brightened her face. "Perhaps your new students could help? You said yourself that there was a great variety of talent there?"

"An excellent idea!", she said. "Any one of them could come up with an idea or means to find this 13th potential that might not occur to me! I'll make it an extra-credit assignment for them."

xxXXxx

Isi Dawndancer was dancing on the stage of the clawditorium during her free period. While she appreciated the teachings of Miss Le Fey, and her help in honing her powers of divination, the New Hexican Deer-Spirit ghoul just plain enjoyed the freedom she felt from just dancing.

Suddenly, she wasn't seeing the clawditorium anymore. Instead she was in the crowded hallway of a school, but not Monster High. This was a normie school. Out of nowhere, an attractive blonde girl shoved her out of her way. Isi felt anger that wasn't her own flare before she walked away, then she heard a 'thud' and cry of pain. Turning she saw the same girl being helped up by her friends after she had collided with a suddenly opened door. Then Isi was back on stage, and the bell rang.

"A strange vision. I will speak to Miss Le Fey about this after class."

xxXXxx

Class was almost over, and Boodika had deemed it a good day, even if she did feel another small flare of new magick just before class. Her students were showing promise. She enjoyed having such a small class as it enabled her to give each student the individual attention they needed. For example; Gigi Grant, the freed former Genie of the Lantern, had tremendous power, but needed to learn how to use her power without the need for someone else to make a wish. Isi Dawndancer was gifted with visions; but while always accurate, they were too random. She wanted to be able to tap into it at will to some extent.

Boodika gave each of them their homework assignments, and the books and/or tools they needed for them.

"Class, I do not normally do this, but I am offering an extra-credit assignment to anyone who wishes to participate", she said. She explained the situation with the 13th potential student, and the possible danger they could be in. "Anyone who can contribute to finding this potential magick user will earn an additional five points to their class grade point average." Then the final bell rang.

"Class dismissed, and Blessed Be." And the students began to leave the classroom.

"Miss Le Fey?"

"Yes, Isi?"

"I may have had a vision earlier of this magick user." She then described the vision she had just before class.

"Thank you, Isi!", Boodika said. "This is helpful! Now I know that I am seeking a teenage girl attending the normie high school."

"How can you be sure it is a girl?"

"Because girls, even ** _mean_** girls, **rarely** shove peer-aged boys around so readily. Plus, I now know that the small flares of magick are sort of acting like a pressure valve; which explains why she hasn't been exposed yet, but she herself may be suspecting something is wrong with her. With luck, between all of us, we will find her before anything bad happens."

xxXXxx

A local monster stage theatre had been chosen as the location for the upcoming Battle of the Bands, and many of the participants were allowed schedule time to practice there in the meantime. The Hex Girls had invited their friends to watch and give input, always glad for a little advice and help. Venus had already helped them write a new song, the song they intended to sing in the finals if they made it. For now, they were just practicing their songs so Ghoulia and Holt could make the right adjustments to their instruments and sound equipment while their friends watched. Kenny also came and brought Chad and Claire to join them, much to the delight of Holt, Jinafire, and Frankie.

"Ok, Guys and Ghouls!", Thorne said into her mic. "We plan to open up with our title-debut song! We know that you all know and love it! Hit it, Sisters!", she called out and hissed as she strummed her bat-shaped guitar while Dusk and Luna hit their drums and keyboard.

 ** _I'm gonna cast a spell on you__**

 ** _You're gonna do what I want you to_**

 ** _Mix it up here in my little bowl_**

 ** _Say a few words and you lose control!_**

 ** _I'm a Hex Girl!_**

 ** _And I'm gonna put a spell on you__**

 ** _(Gonna put a spell on you)_**

 ** _I'm a Hex Girl!_**

 ** _And I'm gonna put a spell on you!_**

 ** _(Gonna put a spell on you_)_**

'Kenny', a seductive female voice in his mind called. 'Come to me, my love. Your Mistress calls.'

 ** _You'll feel the fog as I cloud your mind..._**

 ** _You'll get dizzy when I make a sign_**

 ** _You'll wake up in the dead of night_**

 ** _Missing me when I'm out of sight!_**

 ****'Come to me, my sweet Kenny', the voice called as he slipped into a trance.

 ** _I'm a Hex Girl!_**

 ** _And I'm gonna put a spell on you__**

 ** _(Gonna put a spell on you)_**

 ** _I'm a Hex Girl!_**

 ** _And I'm gonna put a spell on you!_**

 ** _(Oh Yeah)_**

'Come to me, Kenny.' Entranced, Kenny walked away from Frankie and his friends, as they are distracted by the Hex Girls' song.

 ** _With this little cobweb potion_**

 ** _You'll fall into dark devotion_**

 ** _If you ever lose affection_**

 ** _I can change your whole direction_**

Still entranced, Kenny steps through a curtained doorway, to find Vanna Pirella waiting for him in a private balcony box, far above the others and hidden from view.

 ** _I'm a Hex Girl!_**

 ** _And I'm gonna put a spell on you__**

 ** _(Gonna put a spell on you)_**

 ** _I'm a Hex Girl!_**

 ** _And I'm gonna put a spell on you!_**

 ** _We're gonna put A spell on you!_**

The Hex Girls started another song to practice for the show, while Vanna lustfully caressed Kenny before kissing him while pressing her body against his like an animal in heat.

"My sweet, sweet Kenny", she whispered huskily while kissing her way down his neck to where she originally bit him. His sweet intoxicating scent was almost overwhelming as she again pulled his collar out of the way and gently bit him. She melted against him as his hot sweet blood again gushed into her mouth and she swallowed in earnest. His blood was so euphoric, her black heart was filled with blissful lust and she could feel the horny wetness flooding her nether region, and her hands slid down to his belt.

"No! Not yet!", she admonished herself as she pried herself away from him with **great** difficulty. "But, oh!—what a night we shall have once you are mine forever! But for now…."

She again slashed her tongue on her fang and licked the bite-wound, concealing it, then thrust her bleeding tongue in his mouth for a long, deep kiss; giving him more of her own blood.

" **Soon** , my sweet Kenny, we will be **_eternal_** ", she whispered as she faded into the darkness. "Until then….. **forget**."

Kenny shook himself from his daze.

"Aw, not again! How the hell did I get here?"

"Kenny?", Frankie called out. "Where are you?"

"Over here, Frankie", he replied as he came out of the curtained box.

"*whew* I was worried when I realized you were gone", she said, kissing his cheek. "What are you doing up here?"

"I'm not sure. I guess I was just lookin' around", he said then returned her kiss affectionately. "The Hex Girls sound great! They're a shoo-in to win!"

"Thanks, Kenny", Thorne said as they came around the corner. "But competition is fierce this year. I think our most talented opponent is Ember Mclain, the Ghost of Hard Rock."

"Plus the judges are pretty intimidating this year!", Dusk added.

"Who are the judges?", Duncan asked, his arm around Clawdeen.

"Casta Fierce, Catty Noir, and Seth 'Pharaoh' Ptolemy", Luna answered. " ** _The_** three biggest names in monster music!"

"Rumor has it that this years' winning band will be offered a contract with Monstrous Records!", Thorne said. "This could be our big chance to really break into the music business!"

"Voltageous!", everyone said in unison.

xxXXxx

 **Author's Notes: Sorry if this chapter seems kinda patch-work, but I figured it was a good chance to set up a few things for the future.**

 **Please leave long reviews and as always suggestions are welcome. No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	19. Chapter 18

**_Hey, Everyone! In this chapter, I've added more OC's: several new members of Torq's 'Horde', as well as his and Jinx's mom; Lexxa, and Scotty Stinger; a teen scorpion boy. I also did some set-up for future events, and made two more romantic pairings! As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 18

It was Friday night, and Nefera was getting frustrated. All week, she had made Fear-leading practice as exhausting as possible, plus the added strength training after; all to sap time and energy to strain, or even just interfere with Clawdeen seeing Duncan. On top of that, her every attempt to flirt or seduce him was artfully dodged, politely rebuffed, or otherwise avoided. And still, each of them had been willing to wait for the other to be free to see each other as if they had boundless energy!

The Monster High Nightmares had just defeated the Haunted High Spectres, thanks in part to Duncan. Future, the ghosts' coach and Hall Moan-itor for HH, shook Ms. Bloodgood's hand in congratulations, as a few ghosts took a few moments to visit with their Monster High friends. They introduced Duncan to their friends Porter Geist(graffiti artist/parkour ghost and SKRM player), Kiyomi(faceless ghost ghoul, Fear-leader), and Vandalla Doubloons(ghost pirate-captain ghoul, spectator and team/squad transportation by ghost-ship).

Clawdeen hugged Duncan with her pom-poms in her hands, and pressed the 'pom-poms' on her chest into his chest with a sexy smirk, earning a smile and kiss from him. Cleo had a smug smirk on her face when she saw her sister seething. Cleo, like the rest of their inner-circle, was aware that Clawdeen and Duncan had been 'intimate'. Much as Clawdeen deflated her ego at times, Cleo was happy for her friend. If her own experience with Deuce was any indication of what is was like to experience true love through physical intimacy, then how could she not be happy for Clawdeen? Clawdeen looked and sounded as happy as she and Draculaura had after their first experiences with their boyfriends. In the past, she had listened to accounts from other ghouls that lacked a certain…..spark, that kind of misty/dreamy quality that she only heard from those that were truly in love. Cleo almost pitied her older sister. Unless Nefera changed, she would **never** know that kind of joy.

Nerfera could barely contain her anger. She was going to have to do something drastic to make Duncan hers, and she had just the talisman to do it. In the treasure vaults, deep within the De Nile pyramid, she knew just where to find the Heart of Shadow. If she played it right, then Clawdeen would be history and she, Nefera, would be attending Homecoming on Duncan's arm, and he would be all _**hers!**_

xxXXxx

(Sunday afternoon)

"A picnic here on Gloom Beach was a great idea, Clawdeen", Duncan smirked, just before kissing his true love. "And these steaks are really good!", he said as he tore into his second steak; cold as it was, it was still bloody and delicious!

"Thanks, Duncan", Clawdeen smirked. "I followed Mom's recipe and cooked these last night just for today with you."

"You made these?! Wow! You're a good cook!", he smiled hugging her. "We have **_got_** to cook something together sometime soon."

"I'd really like that", she smiled sweetly, before kissing him passionately.

"Well-well, ain't that sweet", an obnoxiously familiar voice said from nearby, emphasizing the 't' in 'sweet'. Duncan and Clawdeen both jumped to their feet.

"Torq", Duncan growled, while Clawdeen growled next to him, both glaring daggers at the hobgoblin.

"And my new-and-improved Horde", he smirked maliciously, sweeping his arms around. Lunk and the orc triplets appeared beside their leader, while four goblins, two trolls, and another hobgoblin appeared as well, surrounding the werewolf and half-kaiju.

"I owe you some **serious** payback, and there will **not** be a repeat of what happened at school!", Torq snarled.

"You mean when I **humiliated** you?", Duncan smirked. "You're a **_coward_** , Torq! Bullying those you think are weaker than you! Strutting through school with a pack of pathetic punks just as cowardly as you are! Do you really think roping in a few more punks will make a difference against **me**? Let me tell you a secret, Torq; what I did to you that day? It was **effortless** for me!"

"Maybe so, freak!", he snarled. "but I'm thinkin' that we have you out-numbered and you can't fight us **and** protect your ghoulfriend at the same time!" Torq and the others chuckled maliciously, while Clawdeen growled, baring her fangs and claws.

"I can protect **myself** , jerk!", she snarled, then smirked at her boyfriend. "Take 'em apart, Sweetie!"

Duncan grinned wickedly. "You have **_no idea_** what you're up against, Torq."

"Gonna tear you apart!", Torq roared. Just then, Jinx came running onto the beach.

"Torq! Stop this!", Jinx screamed as she ran up. "Mom and the Elders know what you're up to! Stop before it's too late!"

"Well, if it ain't my perfect, darling little sister Jinx, the new fearleader!", he sneered. "Stay outta this, Sis! **_Nobody_** messes with **me** without paying the price!"

"This will only get you into more trouble! And all your friends, too! You heard what the Elders said would happen if there was another incident! Mom can't protect you anymore!", Jinx begged. "It's not worth it! Please, just come home with me now, Brother?"

"Hey, Chazz?", Torq smirked.

"Yeah?", the other hobgoblin said from Duncan's left.

"You always had a thing for my sister, right? Take her over to the trees and keep her **'busy', while the rest of us deal with these two."**

"Sure thing, Torq!", Chazz grinned lustily at Jinx.

 **"NO!"** , Jinx screamed as Chazz grabbed her and started to drag her away.

"Hey!", Clawdeen yelled and moved to help her friend, only to be cut off by other members of the Horde. She snarled at Torq, "How can you do that?! Yer gonna let some punk **_rape_** your own **sister**?! You really are **scum**!"

"She's a slut! My own sister…..bangin' with a blood-sucking **leech**!?", he sneered. "Maybe getting' it from one our own kind will snap her back to reality! Now, I been waitin' weeks for this." Torq cracked his knuckles with a malicious grin.

Duncan and Clawdeen took fighting stances, back-to-back.

Nearby, Thad was walking the wooded path along the beach. He was still struggling with his feelings; as his entire belief system had been rocked to the core by his sexual experience with Jinx, and subsequent interaction with her in the hall the following Monday. He had virtually forgotten his harem of ghouls, not just the vampires who mocked him for bedding a 'filthy hob'. What was **wrong** with him? He couldn't stop thinking about her. It was like he could hear her voice everywhere….

"Somebody, help me! Get the **hell** **_off_** me, Chazz!"

Jinx?! Thad ran toward her scream as fast as he could. He came upon Jinx being accosted by another hobgoblin, struggling with all she had. He was about the same size and build as Thad and dressed like a hoodlum.

"I **_don't_** want you, Chazz! I never did and never will!", she protested.

"So you'll fuck some blood-sucking parasite that hates you, and reject one of your own kind who's wanted you since we were kids?!", he growled, "No way! I'm gonna do you and you'll like it so much you'll never even **think** about him again!" And he ripped her top.

"HEY!", Thad yelled, his anger rising to a level it never has before. The emotional struggle was over. He knew what he felt and what he needed to do.

"Thad?!", Jinx blinked.

"Get lost, vampire!", Chazz sneered. "this ain't your business! It ain't like you **actually care** anyway! So beat it!"

Thad was so angry, his rage was beyond belief, he clenched his fists.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ** _MY GHOUL!_** " he snarled, and launched himself at Chazz.

Both hobgoblins' eyes widened in shock, as Thad tackled Chazz and began beating him to a green-skinned bloody pulp. After a few minutes, Thad calmed enough to stop, and stepped away from the barely conscious, badly beaten and defeated Chazz, to offer his hand to help Jinx up.

"Are you alright?", he asked with genuine concern.

"Yeah", she smiled weakly. "You stopped him just in time."

"Thank Ra", he said in relief.

"No, thank **you** ", she smiled, and leaned into his embrace, as he put his jacket around her.

"So", she smirked, "I'm 'your ghoul'?"

"Uuuuhhh….w-well….uummm….", he stammered, just before she crushed her lips to his in a passionate kiss.

Back on the beach, the Horde had formed a ring around Duncan and Clawdeen, who stood back-to-back; neither was going to let the other be surrounded alone.

Two goblins suddenly rushed on Clawdeen, only for one to receive a claw-slash to the face while the other was kicked in the jaw by her high-wedge boot, sending him flying. Trag, one of the troll brothers, charged in and got her other boot to his family jewels. As his eyes crossed while he doubled over in pain, his jaw collided with her upper-cut. Felled like a tree. The other two goblins exchanged a look while the others struggled to recover. The werewolf ghoul was not to be taken lightly!

"Do like I told you!", Torq said to his original Horde members as they faced Duncan. One orc charged in, only to be swatted aside like a bug by Duncan, but he was just the distraction. Suddenly the ogre, Lunk, grappled with Duncan while the other two orcs grabbed for his legs. The half-kaiju easily kicked the orcs away, only for the other troll, Trog, to grab his left arm. This freed Lunk to use both hands to hold Duncan's right arm and step aside for his leader. Torq then walked up to the struggling Duncan with a malicious smirk on his face. Duncan could hear that Clawdeen was holding her own behind him against Trag and the goblins, and smirked at Torq.

"You're a pathetic coward, Torq", he smirked.

"I **_will_** teach you to fear me and mine!", the hobgoblin snarled, and threw a hay-maker into Duncan's jaw.

The smirk left Torq's face when he saw his punch didn't even faze Duncan, barely even turned his head. With a roar, he rained blows on Duncan in an attempt to wipe the smirk from his face, until he needed to take a breather.

"Is that the best you got?", Duncan smirked, just as Trag and the rest of the goblins fell groaning on the ground behind him, and Clawdeen turned and saw Jinx and Thad coming down the path toward them, arm-in-arm.

"Got any popcorn for me?", Clawdeen asked snidely. "Because these guys are in sssoooo much trouble."

"You think these two have me, Torq?", Duncan asked indicating Lunk and Trog, as Torq stepped back. "They **_don't_**."

With a heave, he easily slammed the muscle-bound subterrans together, forcing them to release his arms. Then he quickly grabbed them by their throats and knocked their heads together. Lunk and Trog fell to the ground unconscious when Duncan released them.

"Do you have the guts to fight me on your own, Torq?" Duncan asked snidely. "After all, you and your Horde 'softened me up'!"

With a frustrated shout, Torq charged Duncan, turning into an undisciplined whirlwind of fists. Duncan easily blocked or avoided every blow, and slapped Torq in the head with his open hand at every opportunity. The slaps were making the angry hobgoblin dizzy enough to back off.

"So are you ready to give up?", Duncan smirked. "Or are we gonna get serious?"

Torq glared hatred at Duncan, then grabbed the baseball bat he had hidden as a back-up plan. Duncan shook his head, disappointed, "A coward to the end, huh, Torq?"

Duncan breathed fire at the bat, igniting the end. Torq shoved it into the sand to put it out, then raised it to charge at Duncan, just as several adult and elder members of the Subterran community arrived behind Jinx and Thad.

Torq swung the bat with all his strength, attempting to take Duncan's head off. Duncan simply blocked, and the bat splintered apart against his forearm.

"THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!", Torq snarled, throwing away the handle and swinging his fists at Duncan; only to have them both caught in his hands. Duncan began to squeeze, and Torq whined in pain. Duncan leaned in, driving Torq to his knees.

"Here we are again. You **never** had a chance, Torq", he said calmly. "No matter how big your 'Horde', this would've been the outcome. And this is only a **fraction** of what I'm capable of. Remember that."

"Please don't kill him!" Jinx begged.

"He was gonna let one of his friends **rape** you, Jinx!", Clawdeen reminded her.

"Even after all he's done and tried to do", Jinx explained, "he's still my brother, and I love him."

"I won't kill him, Jinx", Duncan said. "But I won't let everything he's done just slide." With that, Duncan squeezed until he felt several bones in Torq's fists break, while the hobgoblin screamed in pain. Duncan then released him and walked over to Clawdeen.

"Are you ok?", he asked her.

"Never better", she smirked. "Been awhile since I was in a good brawl."

Jinx went to her brother. She helped him up, as all the members of his Horde were gathered together by their elders.

"I'm your sister, and I love you, Torq", she said. "But it's gonna be awhile before I can forgive you for this."

"Indeed", said a middle-aged hobgoblin woman who approached. "Jinx, step away from him, my dear."

"But, Mom…"

"Obey me, my daughter," she said with gentle authority. Jinx respectfully did as she was told.

"My son, you and your friends were punished and warned severely after your previous transgression", she said sternly. "Why did you disobey and do that which you were specifically warned **not** to?"

"Because **_nobody_** disrespects me…..disrespects us….and gets away with it!", he growled through the pain of his broken hands. He glared at Duncan. "He **had** to pay! Or everyone would think we were punks to be ignored!"

"You were already punks, Torq", Duncan said sadly. "You weren't respected at school….you were feared. You bullied and belittled your fellow students. It was only a matter of time before they stood up to you, or you picked the wrong victim."

"Wisely said, young man", the elder said. "I am Lexxa, and I thank you for the mercy you showed my son today, as well as your first encounter with him."

"I'm Duncan, and it was the right thing to do", then he looked at Torq. "I've just never liked bullies."

"The strong **should** dominate the weak!" Torq snarled at Duncan.

"Then by your own words, I should pound you anytime I want just for the fun of it!", Duncan yelled. "But that would be wrong. Your entire mindset is **wrong!** "

"Indeed", Lexxa said. "Torq, I have tried to guide you well, to curb your aggression. I and the Elders have given you **every** opportunity to change. But instead, you let your anger fester and chose the darker path. This young man would have been well within his rights by our law to kill you, but he showed you mercy. So, it is the decision of the Elders that after your injuries are treated; you and your so-called 'Horde' are **_exiled_** from our community and territory." His face paled, and Jinx gasped.

"But, Mother, that means….", he said.

"You must **leave** New Salem, and **never** return without the express permission of the Elders, under pain of **death**." A few tears streamed down Lexxa's face. "Good bye, my son."

xxXXxx

(Monday morning)

C.A. Cupid was both happy and sad. Happy that Love had truly gained momentum here, often due to her help and advice. Many monsters and even normies were no longer letting little things like history or species stand in the way of love and happiness. In just the past year alone, she had seen couples form around her with and without her help who were truly happy: Clawd & Draculaura, Manny & Iris, Cleo & Deuce, Claire & Jackson/Holt, Marisol Coxi & Andy Beast, Abby & Heath, Ghoulia & Slo-Mo, (most recently) Clawdeen & Duncan, Frankie & Kenny, Avia & Neighthan, and Jinafire & Chad. Granted, there were still a few difficult 'cases' to go, but she could tell that the trend was here to stay. She was sad because she knew that soon she wouldn't be needed here anymore, and there were other worlds that needed help from the Demi-Goddess of Love, so she would be leaving soon.

Most recently, Wydowna Spider had come to her in tears; what boy would risk even **dating** a ghoul whose family had a history of females **_eating_** their mates? Cupid was at a loss to help her, until she noticed that Scotty Stinger, the Scorpion boy, was just a little **too** quick to argue or fight with Wydowna over _anything_.

"What the Sphinx are you talking about?!", he said a little too sharply when Cupid questioned him once. "She's a spider-ghoul! I'm a scorpion! Our people hate each other! Hell, my kind used to hunt, kill and **eat** her kind and vice-versa! I could **never** be with her, no matter how beautiful she is!"

"So you think she's beautiful, do you?" Cupid said slyly. He face-palmed himself. "If you like her, don't fight it, give her a chance. If Clawd and Draculaura; a werewolf and vampire, can love each other and be happy then maybe….?" It turned out to be a perfect match; if Wydowna's instinct to eat her mate became overwhelming, Scotty's sting would paralyze her long enough for it to pass safely. Wydowna was so grateful to Cupid, that she made her a beautiful new dress from her spider-silk.

A new caller lit Cupid's board.

"You're on with Cupid, Caller", Cupid said warmly. "What troubles your heart?"

"Weeelllll, there's this ghoul I reeeaally like", the caller said. "But every time I try to talk to her, she disappears."

"You mean she runs away from you?"

"No-no, I mean she's shy, and whenever she can be seen it's like only for class, talking to her ghoulfriends, or something. Then she disappears again before I can talk to her."

"I see your problem, Caller", she said thoughtfully. "Have you thought about asking her ghoulfriends for help?"

"Well, I think they're all kinda protective of each other", he said. "What if they don't like me or don't want me around her for some reason? I'm….uuuhh….not that special."

"Don't sell yourself short, Caller. You never know until you try. They just might surprise you."

"Uh…ok, Cupid, I'll try. Thanks."

xxXXxx

"So how are things going with Romulus, Howleen?", Gigi asked with a smirk.

"I never been so happy in my unlife, ghoulfriend", the youngest of the Wolf siblings said dreamily. "Dinner, boovies, lunches, the Maul, the scarcade. And yesterday, we went on a picnic in the Whispering Woods…..sssoooo romantic!"

"I bet he's been taking hints from your brother's stories about his dates with Draculaura", the genie snickered.

"Excuse me, Howleen, Gigi?", said a boy who was approaching. He seemed nice enough; polite, blueish skin, abbreviated fangs, greyish-white angular hair-cut, grey eyes, blue jeans, sneakers, long-sleeve grey t-shirt w/ the cuffs ripped close to his elbows, fingerless black gloves, and a black sleeveless hoodie w/blue trim. He had a kind of rogue-ish charm combined with a sweet attitude.

"I know you", Howleen said, trying to recall him, snapping her fingers. "Raythe! You're Raythe! We have a few classes with you."

"Yeah", he grinned sheepishly. "And I kinda need your help."

"Sure, what do you need?", Gigi asked. Raythe took a deep breath.

"W-will you introduce me to Twyla?", he asked. "I…..uuhhm….really like her, but she keeps disappearing before I can talk to her."

Howleen and Gigi were shocked, but in kind of a good way.

"That was **you** who called Cupid earlier!", Howleen whispered excitedly. "And **_Twyla_** is the ghoul you like?!"

He nodded, looking at his shoes, preparing to be disappointed.

"That's great!", both ghouls exclaimed quietly. Twyla always seemed lonely, even when she was with them. Not surprising, considering her dad was the Boogie-Man; a monster who creates nightmares for monsters and normies alike. He didn't like it, but it was his job. In the long run, it helped others deal with their fears and problems. But it did create a stigma for their kind.

"Sure, we can arrange for you two to talk", Howleen smirked. "Sit with us in our next class."

When they got to Dead Languages class, they sat together near the back of the room, close to the shadows. Twyla materialized out of the shadow of a cabinet.

"Hey, ghouls", she said in her usual subdued tone as she took her seat. Raythe was enchanted, he had rarely been this close to his crush. She was beautiful; in her purple and aqua dress, her grey skin, lavender eyes, pink lips, and long aqua hair streaked with indigo. He couldn't help staring until Gigi elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey, Twyla", Howleen smirked. "This is Raythe, he has a few classes with all of us."

"Hey, Raythe", she said shyly.

"H-hi", he stammered. Then Gigi elbowed him again, and gave him a look that seemed to say, 'just ask her already!'

"Hey, Twyla, I w-was wondering i-if I could sit with you for lunch today?", he smiled shyly.

"M-me?", she stammered in shock. "W-why would you want to sit with **_me_**?"

"I'd r-really like to know you better", he said, slowly gaining a little more confidence. Twyla blinked. A cute boy wanted to get to know **her**?

"O-ok, I guess", she said with a shy smile. "But can my ghoulfriends join us?"

"Sure! Anything to make you more comfortable", he smiled warmly.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Aaaaaaand…BOOM! Another chapter done, and more set-ups for later! I did more pairings. Why? Because I'm just a big softy! I hope I'm not the only one who thinks Wydowna and Twyla deserve to be happy? And Thad finally coming to terms with his feelings for Jinx? I may surprise with one or two more pairings before this tale is done! And then the Sequels! But come on! What's better than adventure** ** _and_** **romance?**

 **I am not a fan of the recent reboot videos for MH, but I am using three characters from them: Harriet(Clawdeen's Mom) and Raythe. The third is a surprise for later. Raythe is the monster in the first of the reboot series who has a crush on Clawdeen, but I figured he would be good for Twyla, as their attitudes kinda match.**

 **As always, please leave long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	20. Chapter 19

**_Hey, Everyone! I just want to take a minute to thank my readers, followers, and reviewers! Finally writing the stories in my head is fun and all; but to know that there are those who enjoy reading them as well….PRICELESS! Thank you. I have also enjoyed PM'ing with my followers and friends who are members and fellow writers here. DJRodriguez, Creaturemaster, Alyssa Dragonrider, and others who have followed my story; a few of them the writers of stories that inspired me as well!_**

 ** _To my frequent non-member/guest reviewer Matthew gem: I admire your commitment to an idea! You never gave up on it! Your most recent review, you presented an interesting scenario, sssoooo…..your wish is granted! Sort of. I'm changing how it's done in my story, while still harkening back to the MH movie from before. ENJOY!_**

 ** _As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. 'Nth Metal' is from DC comics, although my version is my own take on what it is and how it is 'made'. My OC's: Dr. Philip Moreau is the descendant of the original who had an island, and Dr. Anton Mechanicles(pronounced similar to 'Hercules') is inspired by the 'Aladdin' Disney series villain Mechanicles._**

Chapter 19

(MEGTAF; Research & Development Lab, Area 51-A)

Dr, Philip Moreau(Genetics) and Dr. Anton Mechanicles(Metallurgy and Robotics) were anxiously preparing the signal cloaker so they could contact their true employer. As far as their MEGTAF superiors knew, they were only working late.

"We're ready", Anton said. Philip nodded and activated the communicator.

"Doctors", a distorted voice said from the device as a shadow shrouded form appeared on-screen. "You are late with your report."

"We're sorry, sir", Philip said. "But we have something interesting to report."

"Has your work born fruit, Moreau?", the voice asked.

"Well….not yet. But…"

"Mine may have, sir", Anton interrupted. "A few weeks ago, I was brought some meteorite fragments containing a raw ore similar to titanium. After some refinement and experimentation, I've created a unique alloy that is not only extremely durable, but seems to absorb and dissipate various forms of energy. What our superiors don't know, is that it also disrupts magickal energy! They are dubbing it 'negative energy alloy' or 'Nth Metal' for short."

"Indeed?", the voice sounded pleased. "Well done! Send me all the data, so my lab can replicate it. Between this and what we obtained in Greece, we will be closer to our goal! Dr. Moreau? What is the status of your work?"

"*ahem* I'm close. The animal DNA is child's play for me", Philip replied. "The monster DNA's are proving somewhat problematic. MEGTAF is pressuring me to concentrate on the kaiju DNA, which slows down the rest of my work."

"Do whatever is required. Having monsters that **we** control is **_vital_** to our plans! But do not ignore your MEGTAF work. Kaiju DNA could eventually prove useful to us as well." And the screen went black. The scientists looked at each other and nodded.

xxXXxx

'It appears I may have to risk the back-up plan to get what I need.'

"Uncle Van?", a feminine voice yawned behind him. "It's almost four in the morning. Don't you ever sleep?"

"My pillow is calling me now, Lilith", Van Hellscream said as he turned to speak to his 'beloved' niece. Truthfully, she was little more than a tool to him. His brother was a disgrace to the family name. So when he and his wife died, he took in and trained his niece out of little more than spite. "Go back to bed, dear. You have school tomorrow."

xxXXxx

Nefera quietly made her way to the vaults, as her father was unlikely to approve of her plan….at least until it _succeeds_. Like her, Ramses had become aware of Duncan's relationship with Clawdeen at the gathering at the Rosenblatt home. While surprised, he was not discouraged; simply telling Nefera that he had every confidence in her ability to seduce the boy. But she also remembered the warning from Belloc; not to 'coerce or threaten the safety or secrets' of his son. Just the thought of Belloc's wrath sent chills down her undead spine! No doubt, her father was more familiar with Belloc, and the fact that even **he** did not want to anger the kaiju king spoke volumes! So she had to be careful. Ah! Here was the vault she needed.

She had already prepared a suitable place in the catacombs; quiet, secure, and secluded. Now all she needed was….there it is! The Heart of Shadow! Nerfera grinned maliciously. Tomorrow, she would put her plan into action.

xxXXxx

Duncan and Clawdeen were still drinking their morning lattes while they talked amongst their friends at the fountain before classes. The guys and ghouls heard the story of the brawl at the beach and were still impressed. It had even made it onto Spectra's blog, and thus was also the buzz of the whole school. It was practically a party on campus before, between, and after classes since Monday.

Jinx and Thad, who had been avoiding the others for two days; approached the group, both looking rather contrite. Jinx spoke up first.

"Duncan, Clawdeen, I want to apologize for what happened on Sunday. I would've warned you sooner had I known what my brother intended, or gotten my mother and the Elders to stop him before he even left to find you. But I was too slow."

"It wasn't your fault. Jinx", Clawdeen said with sympathy.

"Torq made his choices", Duncan said. "You tried help everyone by trying to stop him before it was too late. And look what almost happened to you because of it: he betrayed you in the worst way; you, his own sister."

"Clawdeen", Thad spoke up in a humble tone that surprised everyone. "I c-can't begin to express to you how **sorry** I am for our past. I was selfish, arrogant, and very nearly criminal. I **deserved** the prank you and your ghoulfriends played on me and **_worse_**. But being with Jinx has made me re-evaluate a lot of things. But more importantly, seeing what that guy was trying to do to her that day **really** woke me up. It made me realize how deeply I wronged you and how terrible what I tried to do to you was." Then he put his arm around Jinx and smiled at her as she hugged him. "It also made me realize the depth of my feelings for Jinx; the hell with what those snobs think!"

"Well, Thad", Clawdeen said with a small smile, "if a guy like you can learn their lesson **and** have a change of heart; then the least the rest of us can do is give you a second chance. Right, guys and ghouls?"

One by one, the others nodded, a few with smiles.

"I'm so proud and happy for you, Cousin!", Draculaura said, hugging Thad and Jinx.

"Welcome to our little group, Dude", Deuce said offering a fist-bump, which Thad accepted.

xxXXxx

During her free period, Clawdeen entered the Fashion Club room to work on her designs for the next 'Flashion Mob' that she, Jinafire and Skelita were planning for Halloween. She was particularly proud of the designs she was making for Duncan, as this would be his first fashion event, amateur though it was.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and she found herself in a chamber that looked to be somewhere in the catacombs under the school….with no exit. It looked like a large, high-walled pit within a larger chamber. The walls were too high for her to jump, and too smooth and hard to climb. She was trapped. But how? And **_why?_** The only clue was a small, diamond-like crystal sitting on the ground next to her.

Back in the Fashion Club room, the shadow cast by Clawdeen when the flash occurred, remained and began to take a solid form; a dark version of Clawdeen herself. Her velvety skin/fur took a slightly grey tint, her hair was darker and took on purple high-lights, her eyes were orange-red, her lips were black and curled into a malicious grin. Her clothes became a darker more bad-ass look with a few ragged details on the hems.

Nefera stepped forward, grinning. "How do you feel?"

"Wicked", the Dark Clawdeen replied with a grin.

"Good", Nefera said. "Your job is to get Duncan to break up with Clawdeen and get her expelled from school."

"And why, exactly, should I do **anything** you say?", the shadow asked.

"Because **I** hold the Heart of Shadow", the mummy grinned, showing the black, onyx-like amulet, which appeared to have an empty space for another stone. "I created you, and I can un-make you just as easily. You want some freedom to cause trouble? Then do as I say."

"*tsk* Fine", the shadow replied, rolling her eyes.

Elsewhere in the school while walking with her friends, Twyla suddenly shuddered and would have fallen down had Raythe not caught her. He had been working up the courage to ask her to be his date for Homecoming, when her legs just seemed to give-out under her.

"Are you ok?", he asked in genuine concern.

"I-I th-think so", she replied.

"What happened", Howleen asked, as Gigi helped Raythe steady Twyla until she got her balance back.

"I dunno. It felt like a disturbance in the Shadowrealm….something….unnatural."

Gigi nodded. She had felt it too, to a lesser extent, and it seemed vaguely familiar. But it couldn't be. Her sister,Whisp, and the Lantern were gone who-knows-where in the world, and far from here. Besides, Whisp no longer had darkness in her heart, so she wouldn't…

xxXXxx

As the day progressed, Clawdeen's ghoulfriends could not fathom her attitude and behavior. Several times, they covered for her to keep her from getting into deep trouble. Even Duncan and the guys noticed the change. Something was very wrong. Nerfera was watching from a discreet distance. Her plan was working, although the ghouls were slowing things down. However, their interference could keep Duncan from dumping Clawdeen, by reinforcing the suspicions that something was 'wrong' with her. She needed a new plan. She heard the ghouls plan to meet privately before lunch, even suggesting bringing in Howleen. Then Nefera got an idea. She had a wonderful, terrible, wicked idea. She might even kill a few extra bats with that one stone!

"Ok, I'm here", Howleen said as she walked on stage of the clawditorium to meet the ghouls. Frankie, Draculaura, Jinafire, Abby, Ghoulia, Cleo, Lagoona, and Operetta were already there waiting. "What's up?"

"Howleen, have you noticed something a bit….off about your sister today?", Frankie asked.

"She was fine as far as I could tell this morning", she said thoughtfully. "But then, I haven't seen her since the first bell rang for class."

"Ever since her free period, Clawdeen has been acting strange", Lagoona said. "Crikey, we've been **struggling** to keep her out of trouble. She's been giving bad attitude to everyone, mouthing off to teachers, and trying to pull tricks like Toralei."

"Even the guys have noticed it", Cleo said.

"I got no idea what's up with her", Howleen said. "But I'm gonna find out!"

*FLASH!*

"OOOF!", the ghouls collectively grunted as they fell all over each other.

"What the Sphinx just happened?!", Cleo demanded. "And where in Ra's name **are** we?!"

"GHOULS!"

They looked up to see Clawdeen….the Clawdeen they all knew….running up to them, and hugging as many of them as possible at once.

"Clawdeen!", they all yelled in surprise.

"Ok, Clawdeen", Cleo said with an arched eye-brow, "where are we, why are we here, and why have you been act so weird all day?"

"I think we're in the catacombs", Clawdeen replied, then asked, "What do mean I been actin' 'weird'? Last I saw you ghouls was before I went to the Fashion Club room for my free period. There was this weird flash of bright light, and then I was here. Been here since. I got no idea how I got here, but I think it has somethin' to do with that crystal over there", she pointed to it. "It's gotta be parta' this, because it flashed a minute ago, and all you ghouls suddenly appeared."

Cleo took a closer look, and it seemed familiar, like something she'd read about a long time ago in the old scrolls.

"Ghouls?", Abby spoke up. "Somethink is very wrong. Ice powers are not workink!"

"Neither are my vampire powers!", Draculaura cried after trying to change into a bat to fly out.

"My wrappings won't do anything!", Cleo exclaimed.

"Mah Sonic voice is gone!", Operetta said, perplexed.

"I cannot breath fire or take flying form", Jinafire said, confirming that none of them had any active powers that could help them escape.

"Aheeiiioouuh", Ghoulia moaned.

"Yeah, Ghoulia", Frankie said. "It looks like we're **stuck** here!"

xxXXxx

"Twyla? Twyla? Are you alright? Talk to me!", the distant voice said as they came closer and louder.

Twyla blinked as she came to, and realized she was on the floor; looking up into the worried face of Raythe. Twyla groaned as she sat up, and saw Gigi nearby looking very concerned.

"What happened?", Twyla asked.

"You tell us", Raythe said, still worried about his crush. "I asked you to be my date for Homecoming, and you suddenly stiffened and fainted."

"I….fainted?", she asked, as things began to come back to her.

"Yeah, you scared me half-to-life", he said, then made a wry smile with hope twinkling in his eyes. "By the way, does fainting mean that's a 'yes'?"

"What?", she said, still sorting herself, while Gigi elbowed him gently. "No, that's not why I fainted. I felt another shadow disturbance. Way bigger this time."

"I felt it, too, Twyla", Gigi said. "It reminds me of when the Shadow Ghouls were created by Howleen's wishes last year."

"We have to find out what's going on!", Twyla said urgently, as she stepped into the shadow of a door. She stepped back to smile at the crestfallen Raythe.

"And, Raythe?", she smiled. He looked up at her. "I'd love to go to Homecoming with you." Aaaaaaand, she was gone into the shadow again.

A goofy smile split Raythe's face, as Gigi gave him a smile and a pat on the back before 'poof'ing away.

" **YES!** ", he shouted as he leaped into the air pumping his fist.

xxXXxx

The ghouls heard foot-steps from above, outside the pit. They all began to call out, ask for help. Some bottles of water were tossed over the edge into the pit for them.

"Oh, you ghouls ain't goin' nowhere!", Clawdeen's voice called out from above.

"I didn't say that", a very perplexed Clawdeen said to the others.

" ** _I_** did", her voice called again from above, just as her Shadow-Double came into view, grinning maliciously.

"No way!", Clawdeen breathed.

"And I'm not alone", the dark one smirked. One by one, the Shadow Ghouls stepped up beside her. They were all wearing dark variants of the original's clothes, hair, and make-up, their complexions a bit greyer, their eyes more red, and Shadow Draculaura's heart-shaped birthmark was black and cracked; resembling a 'broken-heart' icon.

"Haahaiiuh!", the Dark Ghoulia groaned.

"That's right! You good ghouls are gonna stay **_right here_** ", Dark Frankie smirked, an evil twinkle in her red left eye and orange right eye.

"While we have more fun than a hog at a buffet!", Dark Operetta grinned.

"And **you** get the blame for it all!", Dark Cleo laughed.

"Abby is feeling **_frisky,_** ghouls!", Dark Abby said with a lusty smile. "But annoyink Hot-Head still away. What we do?"

"Yeah! I'm **_thirsty!_** ", Dark Draculaura said, hungrily licking her lips. The real Draculaura gulped nervously.

"I know **_just_** the guy to scratch our itches, ghouls!" Dark Clawdeen smiled, lustily licking her lips. "I don't mind **sharing** Duncan!"

" ** _NO!_** ", Clawdeen snarled. "Any'a you even **touch** my guy and I'll…!"

"You'll **_what_** , Sweet-Cheeks?", Dark Howleen smirked. "Howl uselessly from down there?"

"And I wonder what all the other boyfriends will think after their ghoulfriends all take turns having their way with the very hot and sexy Duncan?", Dark Cleo laughed.

"No!", all the ghouls shouted in unison.

"I cannot wait to rub scales with him!", Dark Jinafire giggled darkly.

"Abby wonders how Dragonboy's heat will feel **_inside?_** ", Dark Abby cooed lustily. "Mmmmm, cannot wait to find out!"

"You & me both, Mate!", Dark Lagoona agreed.

"Ah bet that boy'll really make me ** _sing!_** ", Dark Operetta smiled, blowing a kiss to the good ghouls as the Shadow Ghouls walked away laughing lustily.

"He'll never do it!", Clawdeen growled, confident in Duncan's loyalty.

"You forget", Dark Clawdeen said, "I'm **you!** I know **exactly** how to turn him on. And he's a **guy** ; it won't be that hard to convince him to party with a bunch of ghouls, especially if one is his ghoulfriend who is setting it up!"

"Oh! And, Ghouls?", Dark Clawdeen called as she walked away. "Don't bother with your iCoffins. They won't work. But **ours** do! And you can shout all you want, this part of the catacombs is **completely** isolated, no one will hear you!" She cackled like an evil witch as her voice faded away.

"What are we gonna do?!", Clawdeen growled.

"What can we do?", Frankie asked. "There's no way out and we have no powers or tools to make an exit."

Ghoulia began to think.

xxXXxx

Nefera smiled as she prepared to be 'in the right place, at the right time' to **save** Duncan from a situation she knew he would **never** want anything to do with, judging by his character. It was a brilliant stroke; not only would Duncan dump Clawdeen, she would likely be expelled for instigating the incident, and Deuce would most likely dump Cleo for even being involved. The relationships of the others being destroyed would keep both the guys and ghouls wallowing too deeply in grief to interfere while she seduced Duncan and made him fall in love with her! By the time everything got sorted out, if ever, it would be too late! Duncan would be **hers!**

The Shadow Ghouls exited the catacombs, and gathered around her. They all had malicious grins, making Nefera smile. They enjoyed tormenting their originals.

"So, are they secure?", Nefera asked.

"Yup, still there and ok", Dark Clawdeen said with a vicious grin.

"Good", Nefera grinned as she touched the amulet and the empty space on it beneath the black stone. "both stones worked perfectly. And I need the ghouls unharmed for my whole plan to work. You know what to do; send a text to Duncan and ask him to meet you somewhere private, where you ghouls will try to have your way with him, until I show up and save him! The good ghouls take the blame, he dumps Clawdeen, she gets expelled, and the other ghouls get in trouble and lose their boyfriends! Then there will be no one around to stop me from making Duncan **mine!** "

"Sounds good", Dark Clawdeen smirked. "But there's been a _slight_ change in plans."

Nefera's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean cha-AAAAAAAHHH!", she shrieked as she was hit with a high voltage shock and collapsed to the floor. She helplessly looked up at Dark Frankie, whose fingers were still sparking, while Dark Clawdeen took the Heart of Shadow.

"We're tired of bein' ordered around", the shadow werewolf said with a vicious grin. "You made a mistake by makin' so many of us. Now, nobody is gonna interrupt our fun with Duncan! Mmmmmmmm! I'm getting' wet just thinkin' about it!"

"And just to make sure you don't interfere….", Dark Frankie smirked maliciously, just before shocking Nefera into unconsciousness.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Bum-Bum-Buuuuuummm! A dark plan backfires! Credit for giving me the idea for this particular threat goes to Matthew Gem, a frequent guest reviewer who is apparently a HUGE fan of the MH movie '13 Wishes' and the Shadow Ghouls. I hope he likes not only the route I took to use them, but that I also added more of them to the mix!**

 **So the real ghouls are trapped, but where are their powers?! How will they escape? What will Duncan do? LOL! You'll see next chapter!**

 **xxXXxx**


	21. Chapter 20: Lost in the Shadows

**_Hey, Everyone! I would like to dedicate this chapter to the memory of an actress whose roles, and one in particular, touched my life and those of many other fans. As Princess Leia, she was an inspiration to many, especially girls and women, and the first crush of many a boy like myself: Carrie Fisher, may she rest in peace as one with the Force. The last name of the character of Claire in the Monster High franchise was never mentioned as far as I know. So in memory of Carrie, I have given Claire the last name of 'Fisher' for my series here._**

 ** _As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. Enjoy!_**

 **Chapter 20: Lost in the Shadows**

Kenny was putting his books in his locker, and thinking about Frankie, with a smile on his face. If anyone had told him a month ago that he would find love with a beautiful monster, he would've said they were crazy. Now he couldn't imagine life without her.

He closed his locker and turned to head toward the cafeteria to meet Chad and Claire for lunch, when he was roughly shoved against the lockers.

"Here we are again, Chris", Rick said to his twin.

"Yeah, this does seem familiar, Rick", his brother said as they both had obnoxious grins.

"Come on, guys", Kenny said, feeling bored rather than threatened, which was weird in and of itself. "Don't you have anything better to do? What do you want?"

"We heard that you were dating a monster, little Kenny", Rick said. Kenny raised an eyebrow and glared at the twins, just as Chad and Claire came into view. They saw the situation, and started working their way toward their friend. The crowd of students in the hall slowed them down.

"Yeah, I'm dating a monster", Kenny said with an edge. "What's it to you?"

"What's wrong?", Chris asked sarcastically. "Can't you get a **real** girl?"

"Maybe you're just crazy like Claire", Rick snickered. "And I heard that monster girl can't keep a boyfriend to save her unlife!"

Kenny's blood was starting to boil. The crowd heading to lunch was starting to thin in the hall.

"She must put out", Chris said with lewd tone and grin. "That's the only way a monster chic could get a real, normal guy. After all, pussy is pus….."

" **THAT'S ENOUGH!** ", Kenny shouted as his eyes turned red. Before they could react, he clunked their heads together and shoved them against the lockers on the other side of the hallway and held them there, as they were too shocked to move. Chad and Claire stared in shock as they finally arrived behind Kenny.

"You guys stay the hell away from me, and don't you **_ever_** talk about my ghoulfriend like that again!", Kenny growled. " **Understood?!** " Then his eyes returned to their normal whiskey color as he shoved away from them and stalked toward the cafeteria.

"Dude, that was awesome", Claire said as she and Chad walked beside him.

"Yeah, I doubt those guys will **ever** bother you again", Chad said.

"Thanks, I never knew I had that in me", Kenny said, now surprised at himself after the adrenaline rush passed. "But let's forget about it for now. I'm hungry."

xxXXxx

Duncan was still trying to figure out what was up with Clawdeen. She was her usual self this morning before classes. But then it was like a switch had been flipped. Her sarcasm had turned dark….almost hostile in some cases. And more than once, the ghouls covered for her attitude towards teachers; saving her from detention, or worse! She had even snapped at **him!** He hoped her friends would get to the bottom of it, as they suggested they could. He had offered to help, but they insisted that it was probably a 'ghoul' thing. But now it was lunchtime and Clawdeen and the others were not in the creepateria. Where were they? He saw a few of their other friends already occupying a table adjacent to the groups' usual table, where sat Deuce and Clawd waiting for their ghoulfriends.

"Hey, guys?", Duncan asked as they looked up. "Have any of you seen Clawdeen and the others?"

"Nope, but they should be here any minute, Dude", Deuce said in his usual mellow tone. Duncan smiled. That's what he liked about the gorgon; his 'go-with-the-flow' chill attitude. Just then, Duncan's phone howled, alerting him to a text from Clawdeen.

'Hey, Sexy! I want to apologize for snapping at you. Meet me in the vampitheatre, behind the stage curtain. Come alone, ASAP! ;)'

xxXXxx

The cafeteria was pretty crowded while Claire, Kenny, and Chad looked for three empty seats together. They saw an empty table, and headed for it; only for Claire to trip and fall, dropping her tray of food and nearly causing Kenny and Chad to trip over her. They stopped to help her, as Tiffany and her crew passed them and took the empty table.

"Aaaaw, too bad, goth-girl", Tiffany snarked. "Maybe if you wore **real** shoes, you wouldn't've tripped over my foot!" The other girls all laughed. Claire's anger was boiling over. She dealt with bullies a lot in her life, although it was usually in defending others from them. But Tiffany was the first mean-girl-bully that had ever targeted her, and Claire just could not understand why the brat pissed her off almost beyond reason. But **this** was just too much! Claire's hazel eyes turned violet.

"You. Are. Such. A… **BITCH!** ", Claire shouted, as her eyes flared a violet light. The lunch trays of Tiffany and all her friends flew from the table, dumping their food and drinks all over them. The entire room froze for a moment while the girls screeched and complained, then all eyes were on Claire. Tiffany stood and pointed an accusing finger at her.

" **YOU** did this! I **KNEW** there was something wrong with you! And I bet you did all the other weird things that have been happening lately! You're not normal! You're some kind of monster! A witch!"

Many of the students began to do everything from murmur to yell obscenities at Claire; telling her to get out of their school, that she didn't belong there. Meanwhile, Chad and Kenny stepped up to defend her, yelling back at her attackers. All the while, the stress built up in her until she could take no more.

" ** _EVERYBODY JUST STOP!_** ", she yelled over the din and stamped her foot. A wave of violet magic exploded from that point and froze everyone in the room as if a 'pause' button had been pushed on the world. "Whoa…..oh…my…did...did… ** _I_** do that?"

"You did indeed, child", said a gentle feminine voice behind her. She turned to see Boodika Le Fey standing behind her. Once getting a good look at Claire, it was Ms. Le Fey's turn to be shocked. Those eyes! Her face! Could it be?! This girl looks exactly like….

"I know you from my reading", Claire said in awe. "You're Boodika Le Fey! One of the greatest witches that ever lived!"

"Thank you, Miss..?"

"Claire….I'm Claire Fisher. Please call me Claire."

"Well, Claire, I have been searching for you. I **had** hoped to find you **before** something like this happened", Boodika said in an apologetic tone. "You have **_magick_** in you, my dear. And you must learn to control it, or it could get very dangerous. I can teach you at Monster High."

"That sounds….awesome", Claire said. "But I'm not a monster, so how…?"

"You're a witch, my dear Claire. And **everyone** is welcome at Monster High in any case. Didn't you know that?", Boodika asked. "Come. We must go to your principal's office and call your parents. We have many things to discuss."

"Wait!", Claire went to Kenny and Chad. "These two are my friends. Can you …um… 'unfreeze' them?"

"Of course, but…. **you** try first. Focus your intent and say _'petrificus negatus'_ as you wave your hand", she said with encouragement.

"Um, ok. I'll try.", Claire said with a touch of uncertainty, turning to her friends and waving her hand. " _Petrificus Negatus_."

A small burst of magick curled from her hand and wrapped around the boys like smoke; Chad and Kenny relaxed into movement again. "Thanks", they both said at once.

"Well done, Claire!", Boodika beamed. "And on your first try, too! Very impressive!"

'Just what I would expect from a descendant of my long-missing sister', she thought to herself. 'She is the very **image** of Jordanna at her age.'

"Whoa! Since when are your eyes violet, Claire?", Chad asked.

"What?!", Claire asked.

"Your eyes changed when your magick fully emerged. Judging by your aura, you have the potential to be a **great** witch", Boodika said. "You two boys may as well come with us to help explain. I'll unfreeze the others once we've left the room."

xxXXxx

Twyla and Gigi were looking for Howleen, in the hope that their friend could help them find out what was going on. They found her with several the other ghouls heading down a hallway with Clawdeen in the lead. Or, at least they **looked** like Howleen and the others. Something was ….off, and….familiar.

"Howleen", Gigi called out, getting her attention, which made the whole group stop and wait.

"What's up, ghoulfriends?", she asked with a creepy grin.

"Something is going on with the shadows and shadowrealm today", Twyla explained. The ghouls all twitched subtly.

"So?", 'Howleen' said with a bored expression.

"So?", Gigi replied, perplexed at her attitude. "So we need your help to find out what's up."

"I'd **love** to help, I **really** would", she said snidely. "But we got someone..er..something to do right now. I'll catch up with ya after, K?"

"Uuhm….yeah, sure", Twyla said, as she and Gigi watched the ghouls leave. As the ghouls turned a corner out of view, they noticed….

"They have no shadows", Gigi whispered with a touch of fear.

"Because they **_are_** shadows!", Twyla said. "But where are the **real** ghouls?"

"I don't know, but they must be nearby", Gigi said. "I'm not sensing any genie magick, so Whisp didn't cause this, and neither did any other genie."

"I'll keep an eye on them!", Twyla said. "You start searching the school and catacombs!"

xxXXxx

Duncan walked on to the stage of the vampitheatre, but couldn't see his ghoulfriend anywhere. His sensitive hearing picked up a few faint clicks that seemed to come from the doors.

"Clawdeen? Is that you?", he called out.

"Right here, Sexy", she cooed behind him. He turned. She seemed different, even from this morning. Darker sort of.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why did you want to meet here, Sweety?", he asked.

"So I could show you how sorry I am for earlier in….private", she replied huskily. She kissed him deeply, running her hands all over his body. He felt his passion rising, but something just felt…wrong. This wasn't like her, at least not while they were in school. They had mutually agreed to behave during the school day.

"Whoa, hold on", he said after breaking the kiss. "I thought we agreed that school was neither the time nor place for…."

"But I have a special treat for you", she cooed. "Every guy's dream. Right, ghouls?"

The others came out of the shadows, all of them with lust filled eyes.

"I don't mind sharing you with my ghouls", she grinned. "They all want a turn with you…after me, of course."

xxXXxx

"Are you sure this will work, Ghoulia?", Cleo asked.

"Uh-huh. Aahhhaiuh."

"Right, Ghoulia. If this crystal brought us here, then we should take it with us", Lagoona said as she pocketed the crystal.

"Let's just do this, ghouls!" Clawdeen said urgently, "Duncan could be in danger!"

The ghouls went to the wall of the pit, and the fearleaders formed a pyramid. Using them like a living ladder, Abby climbed up first and was able to jump just enough to catch the rim of the pit and climb out. She turned and lowered her hand.

"Next!", she smirked. One by one, the ghouls climbed out, until Abby had to lower Jinafire back down just low enough for Draculaura to take hold of her ankles and allow the fearleaders to be pulled out together. Once everyone was out, Clawdeen sniffed the air.

"This way!", she said, and lead the way out through the catacombs.

xxXXxx

"This isn't like you Clawdeen!", Duncan said, then looked to the other ghouls. "This isn't like any of you. Some of you have boyfriends, for crying out loud! And you know I'm loyal only to you, Clawdeen."

"Oh come on, Duncan", Clawdeen said huskily. "You know you want to", and she pulled him into another deep kiss. He knew something was off, but wha….? That's it! He broke the kiss and pushed her away.

"You're **not** Clawdeen!", he accused. "The **_real_** Clawdeen smells and tastes like our morning lattes until after lunch. And since there was no time to eat before coming here, she would still have that yummy smell and taste to her kisses. **You're a fake!** So I'm guessing you **_all_** are!"

"Clever boy", cooed the Dark Clawdeen with a lusty grin. "We're their Shadows, and we're still gonna have our way with you."

"I don't think so! Where are the real ghouls?", he demanded. "Where's my Clawdeen?!"

"They're safe….for now", Dark Cleo snarked.

"For how long, depends on how well you satisfy us", Dark Jinafire said.

Unnoticed, Twyla peeked out from a backstage shadow.

"No way!", Duncn growled. "I'm going to find them! Aaah! What the…..?", as he tried to move, he found his legs frozen to the floor in ice from the knees down. As he broke free, Dark Operetta hit him with her sonic song, hurting his ears and bringing him to his knees. When she stopped, he felt someone grab him from behind and then a sharp pain as Dark Draculaura's fangs pierced the softer scales of the side/front of his neck, drinking deeply. As she drank, Dark Jinafire moved in swiftly, striking pressure points to render him almost completely unable to move.

'I have to keep fighting', he thought to himself. 'But if I hurt them, will it hurt the ghouls as well?'

xxXXxx

The Ghouls had just made it back into the school when Gigi found them.

"Are you ghouls alright?", the genie asked. "There's…"

"We already know, Gigi!", Clawdeen said urgently, "Where's Duncan?"

"They have him in the Vampitheatre", Twyla said, as she stepped out of a nearby shadow. "And I know what caused this mess. The Shadow Clawdeen is wearing the Heart of Shadow! It originally belonged to one of my ancestors, but was lost centuries ago. One part creates a Shadow-double and sends the real person to where the other part is!"

"So **that's** what this is", Lagoona said, taking it out of her pocket.

"Good to know, but let's go already!", Clawdeen growled. "Duncan needs me!"

"Oh my ghoul!", Draculaura gagged. "What is my double doing? I'm going to be sick! I think she's drinking b-b-bloo….uuuhhh!", the petite vampire rushed to the nearest trash can to be sick.

"We gotta hurry!", Clawdeen urged. "Draculaura! Catch up when you can!"

"We'll stay with her", Twyla said.

As the ghouls rushed to the vampitheatre, they felt themselves getting stronger.

"Ghouls!", Abby piped up as they ran. "Ice powers comink back!"

The others all felt their powers returning the closer they got to their shadows. They reached the door, to find it locked.

"Stand back, ghouls", Abby grinned.

xxXXxx

"We have you now, Sexy", Dark Clawdeen cooed maliciously. Duncan could barely move due to blood-loss and the precision strikes Jinafire made to his nerve centers. He was virtually helpless. If he hadn't held back against them, he would've escaped, but might've hurt them badly, and thus the real ghouls for all he knew. They had him on a couch that was used as a prop in various plays, and Dark Clawdeen removed his hoodie and tore his t-shirt off. The Shadow Ghouls had just begun to drool, when one of the doors crashed open.

" **GET YOUR CLAWS OFF MY BOYFRIEND!** ", the real Clawdeen shouted before she and the other ghouls charged the stage. Twyla, Gigi, and Draculaura arrived just as the ghouls squared off with their doubles and Clawdeen tackled her shadow in a vicious, feral brawl. Dark Draculaura turned into a bat to attack Clawdeen, only to be engaged in an aerial bat-battle with the real Draculaura. Twyla and Gigi carefully dodged around the battling opponents to check on Duncan.

"Are you ok?", Twyla asked him.

"That fake Draculaura bit me, drained a lot of blood", he said weakly. "And I can't move….nerve strikes from the fake Jinafire."

"I can heal you", Gigi said. "But you have to make a wish."

The commotion had started drawing a crowd of students and faculty. Spectra was capturing it all on her iCoffin.

"Gigi, I wish to be healed to full strength!", Duncan said.

"As you have wished, so it shall be!", Gigi said, placing her hands together and blinking. A flash of magick struck Duncan, and he was healed. He stretched and flexed as he stood.

"Now to help the others", he said with a grin.

"The Shadow Clawdeen is wearing the Heart of Shadow!", Twyla told him, pointing to the amulet. "You need to get it!"

"Clawdeen!" he called out. "Her necklace!"

"Right!' she growled as she grappled with her shadow. She managed to snag the amulet and throw it to him. As he caught and held it, he saw the other battles going on. The two Cleos' dueling with their mystical wrappings, the Operettas' grappling while trading sonic song blasts, the Jinafires' in an insane battle of martial arts and fire, the Abbys' trading blasts of ice, while Lagoona, Howleen, and Ghoulia grappled with their doubles.

"There's a piece missing", he said, looking at it.

"I have it", Twyla said, handing it to him. "Lagoona gave it to me. This is the piece that gets placed where-ever the user wants to send their victims."

"Ok, how do we break the spell?", he asked.

"We can't! Only the original caster can!", Twyla said. "And we have no idea who that is!"

"So what do we do?!"

"Destroy it!", she said. "I don't know if that will work, but it's our only chance!"

Duncan smashed the two stones together with all his strength, shattering them.

"NNNOOOOOoooooo…!", the moaning wail came from all the Shadow Ghouls as they dissolved back become the normal shadows of the ghouls again.

The gathered students and teachers cheered and applauded, as Clawdeen and Duncan shared a sweet embrace and victory kiss.

"Ahem!", Headmistress Bloodgood silenced the room. "Would any of you care to explain what is going on in here?"

Duncan and the ghouls all looked a bit sheepish.

"Yes, Ma'am", Twyla said. "But I think it's gonna take all of us to do it."

"Very well, all of you come to my office. And, Duncan?"

"Y-yes, Ma'am?"

"Please tell me you have a spare shirt?"

"Got it covered, Ma'am", he smiled as he pulled on his hoodie and zipped it up. "Literally."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know some of you may be wondering about a few things, tho.**

 **How could the Shadow Ghouls overpower Duncan when the Horde couldn't? Three reasons: (1) they caught him by surprise with a (2) well-coordinated blitz attack, and (3) he was holding back big time because he didn't know if by hurting them it would hurt the real ghouls.**

 **Why didn't the ghouls have their powers in the pit? They had been transferred to their Shadows when they were created by the Heart's power, because they were still part of them. That's also why their powers started to come back the closer they got to the Shadows. Why didn't they use them when the Shadow Ghouls were taunting them in the pit? Because they didn't know at that point.**

 **How many of you guessed that Claire was the 13** **th** **magick student before now? And I thought it would be cool if she was related to Boodika Le Fey. And I confess being inspired by 'Harry Potter' when coming up with the 'unfreezing' spell I used. As I delve into how the characters use magick I will touch on different variations that have been used before in other sources, and will cite them as needed.**

 **Reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	22. Chapter 21

**_Hey, Everyone! Mostly fluff this chapter, but I had fun with it. I do not own Firebreather or Monster High, nor do I own Ember McLain, the Hex Girls, or the two songs I used in this chapter. The song sung my Ember(Trap of Love) was originally sung by the Hex Girls in an episode of 'Mystery inc.', and 'Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air' was originally sung by the Hex Girls in "Scooby Doo and the Witches Ghost"._**

 **Chapter 21**

Everyone was cheering at the Battle of the Bands; monster and normie alike. Ember McLain was the only competitor left against the Hex Girls. The judges; Catty Noir, Pharaoh, and Casta Fierce were all impressed with both finalists. They asked the bands to each sing a song they had written especially for the competition. As the 'fronts' for each band, Thorne and Ember flipped a coin for going first, then shook hands and wished each other luck.

Ember McLain; the Ghost of Hard Rock, flared her flaming blue hair and started a rock ballad she had written to show her range as a singer: **_Trap of Love._**

 _Your unfeeling heart, Imprisons me_

 _Careless eyes, Too blind to see_

 _Empty words, An iron cage_

 _Broken heart, Bleeding rage_

 _Can't wait for you and me,_

 _It's time I break free_

 _Trap of Love, Snared by Desire_

 _Trap of Love, Burned by your Fire_

 _Trap of Love, Snared by Desire_

 _Trap of Love_

 _Beware the Trap of Love_

 _Let me be, It's time we part_

 _Set me free, Uncage my Heart_

 _Can't wait for you and me,_

 _It's time for you to see_

 _Trap of Love, Snared by desire_

 _Trap of Love, Burned by your Fire_

 _Trap of Love, Snared by Desire_

 _Trap of Love_

 _Beware the Trap of Love_

"She's good", Dusk said, hearing the applause of the crowd.

"So are we", Thorne said. "And we have that new song the Venus helped us write. Let's show the judges just how hex-cellent we are!"

"You got this, ghouls!", Clawdeen cheered, and all their Monster High friends, as well as Chad and Kenny; agreed.

"Rock it out!", Claire called out to her fellow half-witches.

 _Earth, Wind, Fire and Air_

 _We may look bad, but we don't care_

 _We ride the Wind, We feel the Fire_

 _To love the Earth is our one desire_

 _(To love the Earth is our one desire)_

 _Love the Earth, It's only fair_

 _It's one big Earth that we must share_

 _We love the Earth with all our Fire_

 _It's in our souls, Our one desire_

 _Earth, Wind, Fire and Air_

 _We may look bad, but we don't care_

 _We ride the Wind, We feel the Fire_

 _To love the Earth is our one desire_

 _(To love the Earth is our one desire)_

 _Nature is a precious gift_

 _It will make your spirits lift_

 _Love the Earth with all your Fire_

 _It's in your soul, Your one desire_

 _Earth, Wind, Fire and Air_

 _We may look bad, but we don't care_

 _We ride the Wind, We feel the Fire_

 _To love the Earth is our one desire_

 _(To love the Earth is our one desire)_

The song ended to the roaring cheers and applause of the crowd, as the judges conferred. They then spoke to the sponsors and the host; stalk-show host, comedienne, and mushroom-woman Spooki Moldberg.

"That was awesome! Wasn't it, everyone?", Spooky said, standing onstage with the two finalist bands. "Our judges have made their decision. The winner of this year's Battle of the Bands is…..THE HEX GIRLS!"

The crowd exploded with cheers, as Ember and her band-mates shook the hands of the Hex Girls in congratulations.

"Hex Girls, Monstrous Records is ready to begin negotiations with your manager for your record contract. However", Spooki continued. "Ember, get **your** manager and pen ready, too. Because your song, 'Trap of Love', caught the attention of another sponsor, who wants to use it in the soundtrack of the next 'Vampire Majesty' boo-vie!"

More thunderous applause and cheers, as all the ghouls on stage now exchanged hugs.

xxXXxx

Thad and Jinx were the first to arrive at the fountain the next morning, but they were quickly joined by Jackson and Claire; who had adapted to Monster High well this past week. She and her family still lived on the 'normie' side of town, but Jackson was more than happy to pick her up for school every morning and drive her home. One-by-one, all the ghouls and guys arrived until last but not least, Clawdeen and Duncan arrived, drinking their morning double-chocolate coffincino lattes. The group conversation was mostly about the Battle of the Bands. To a lesser extent they also talked about the Shadow Ghouls, and who might have summoned them. It had been almost two weeks since the incident, and it was still a complete mystery.

Thad seemed distant and less talkative, and both Jinx and Draculaura noticed.

"You ok, Thad?", Draculaura asked her cousin.

"I'm fine", he said. "It's my problem, nothing for any of you to worry about."

"C'mon, Sexy", Jinx said, kissing his cheek. "We're all friends here."

He sighed resolutely, and took a deep breath.

"My parents are on my back", he said. "They said they'll kick me out, and dis-own me unless…."

"Unless you break up with the 'filthy hob'?", Jinx deduced sadly.

"That's terrible!", Draculaura said, hugging her cousin.

"I'll say", Frankie frowned. "You can't help who you love!"

"Vampires!", Clawdeen growled. "No offence, you two."

"None taken", Draculaura and Thad both said at once.

"I love you, Thad", Jinx said apologetically. "But I don't want to cause problems with you and your family…."

"Don't even **think** it, Jinx!", he said protectively. "I am **not** giving you up!"

"That's right!", Draculaura said. "I'm sure Daddy will let you move in with us if you need a place to go!"

"Are you sure, Cuz?", he asked.

"Of course! We're family!"

"Thanks", he said with genuine gratitude, and put his arm around Jinx. "We're looking forward to Homecoming this weekend."

"We all are", Clawd grinned. "This is the first time in years that the Monster High Nightmares have been **undefeated** going into Homecoming!"

"Which reminds me, ghouls", Cleo said. "Do all of you have your dresses or outfits ready for the dance?"

All the ghouls nodded or affirmed they did. Clawdeen smiled to herself, imagining the look on Duncan's face when he sees her Homecoming ensemble. Looking at her friends with boyfriends, she could tell they were all thinking the same way.

"Holt told me that Casta, Pharaoh, and Catty gave him early-release copies of their newest songs for Homecoming", Claire smiled. "So the music is gonna be **really** off the hook."

"Voltageous", everyone agreed.

xxXXxx

Vera drank deeply from the willing donor; well within monster law, as long as he survives. There was no danger of turning him, as she was not sharing her blood with him as well. He was one of her favorites, his blood having a rich and robust flavor. It would be at least three months before she could feed from him again, so she planned to enjoy this. Maybe she would bed him this time as well? It would ensure he would come back, as well as satisfy another of her….needs. However, there was a knock on her door as she finished feeding.

"Come!", she growled, a bit annoyed.

"Mother", Vanna said respectfully when she entered, then growled through clenched teeth, "There's a…. complication."

"Wait for me in my private chamber", she said to the donor, then turned to her daughter as he left. "Explain, my dear."

"Kenny has a ghoulfriend!", Vanna scowled. "He's dating Frankie Stein!"

"It matters not, my child", Vera scoffed. "He is in your power. And once the ritual is complete, he will be yours and yours alone. He responded to your mental call last time, did he not?"

"Yeeeess, he did", Vanna said, somewhat reassured.

"You see? The blood-bond renders him unable to resist you", Vera smiled. "However, if it will make you feel better, my dear, I will volunteer to chaperone your Homecoming dance and assess the situation. Inform the Headmistress tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mother."

xxXXxx

"So what's going on?" Frankie asked, as she, Kenny, Clawdeen, Duncan, and Margaret entered the empty catacomb Student Lounge after school and team practices were all done.

"Yeah, Mom", Duncan agreed. "Why are we here so late?"

"It's a surprise", Margaret said slyly as she lead them out onto the balcony overlooking the lava-flow. "And a special request."

"A 'special request'?", Clawdeen said, confused.

"From who?", Kenny asked.

Then they felt it. Tremors. Increasing in strength. Then they began to hear them as well…..like the foot-steps of a giant.

Duncan's eyes widened, along with his smile as he figured it out. Kenny then caught on as well. The guys took the hands of their confused ghoulfriends.

"Don't be afraid", they both whispered to their ghouls. Then Belloc stepped around the bend at the far end of the lava-flow cavern and strode toward the balcony. The ghouls were in awe of the huge, crimson, draconian Kaiju King.

"Dad!", Duncan called out.

"Duncan", he rumbled with a mild chuckle. "Let me look at you. You're stronger. It is good to see the burden you carried greatly diminished." He then looked at Clawdeen, who was in complete awe of the kaiju king. "And I believe we have **you** to thank for that, young lady."

"Dad, this is Clawden", Duncan introduced her. "Clawdeen, my Dad; Belloc."

"H-hey", she stammered with a smile.

"A pleasure, my dear", Belloc rumbled pleasantly. "It does my heart good to see that my son has found love with one with so brave and powerful a spirit, as I did."

"Thanks, your Majesty", she replied, as Margaret blushed. "I didn't expect it myself, but I've never been so happy."

Belloc rumbled satisfactorily. Then he turned to the others.

"Margaret", he purred. "Thank you for arranging this, my love."

"Of course", she replied.

"And, Kenny", Belloc looked at the boy, "friend and brother to my son. I sense there is something different about you?"

"Y-yessir", Kenny said. "I've gotten stronger since you last saw me."

"Perhaps", Belloc said, not entirely convinced. "But I see that you, too, have found someone."

"This is Frankie Stein", Kenny said, hugging her closer with a smile.

"H-hi!", she said shyly.

"Stein?", Belloc inquired with an arched eye-brow. "Daughter of Viktor and Viveka Stein?"

"You know my parents?", she asked, surprised.

"Indeed", he said. "It was they who(Margaret cleared her throat, and Belloc got the hint)—how do you say—are Duncan's 'god-parents'."

"Wow", Kenny said, "small world."

Belloc turned back to Duncan.

"I am proud of you, Duncan", he said. "Your mother has told me of your battles, and I have watched your 'games'. I see that it tests and hones your skills and powers. And I can see that you have gotten stronger."

"Thanks, Dad", Duncan replied. "My friend and 'cousin', Jinafire, has also been teaching me martial arts, focus and control."

"The dragon-ghoul, correct? Excellent. I have always admired the wisdom and skill of our distant cousins. It pleases me that you are learning from the knowledge of the Ancients."

"We should go, Belloc", Margaret said. "It **is** a school night, and I'm sure the kids have homework."

"Of course", Belloc chuckled. "Clawdeen, could I speak with you privately for a moment?"

Clawdeen looked at Duncan, who shrugged then nodded reassuringly and waved good-bye to his father.

"Um….ok, sure", she said as the others withdrew to the corridor back to the school.

"I can see that my son loves you deeply, as just you love him. I also sense there is more to you than meets the eye; a strength you have yet to discover", Belloc said with a grin. He had sensed it the moment he arrived; **she** was the new Alpha of the werewolves, she just didn't know it yet.

"Me?", she said, confused. "I'm just a fashion designing ghoul in love. Duncan is very…..special to me. And I hope it never ends."

"I can tell he feels the same for you", Belloc grinned. "And I believe Destiny has a plan for you both. The happiness the two of you share has my Blessing."

"Thank you", she smiled, her eyes tearing up. "That means a lot."

Belloc chuckled warmly. "Take care of my son. Farewell."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: I had fun with this chapter. Of course the Hex Girls won the Battle of the Bands! But I like the character of Ember McLain from Danny Phantom enough to give her a decent prize as well.**

 **And Belloc sensing that Clawdeen is the new Alpha when she herself doesn't know? Inspired by Alyssa Dragonrider's "FirebreatherxDanny Phantom" work; an awesome read, if you haven't checked it out yet!**

 **Next chapter: Homecoming! And two—count 'em! TWO!—bombshells!**

 **Leave long reviews and, as always, suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	23. Chapter 22: Homecoming

**_Hey, Everyone! As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High, and the song I used in this chapter is from the movie "Once Bitten" and sung by Maria Vidal._**

 **Chapter 22: Homecoming**

After the betrayal and failure of the Shadow Ghouls, Nefera decided on a new tactic and angrily searched the ancient scrolls for an answer; some way to make Duncan hers. Her father still had faith in her abilities, but she knew her mother would be disappointed with her inability to seduce the boy un-aided. After all, her mother had long ago taught her the art of seduction specifically to win the heart of her prince. Now, she hoped that the love potion she found would do the trick. It required some very rare ingredients and at least a week to brew. It would be ready for Homecoming. Once infused into her lip-gloss, all she had to do was **kiss** him.

xxXXxx

It had been easy for Zombozo to take over the travelling scarnival with his powers. And he was smart enough to not attract too much attention, while at the same time recruiting more of his fellow Klownz to his side as they travelled. They were a unique species among monsters. They resembled solid phantoms, possibly a variant, but their need to 'feed' on emotions and life-energy bordered on demonic. Thus, they were often pariahs of the monster community; tolerated so long as they didn't cause too much trouble. Most only pulled pranks on normies and fed on the emotions they caused, although these pranks ranged from minor to terrifying, even harmful. As the most powerful Klown that ever un-lived, they flocked to him. The rest of the scarnies were kept in line by fear, which only fed the Klownz. The scarnival kept up their schedule and no one was the wiser, just as Zombozo planned. Or so he thought.

xxXXxx

The preparations for Homecoming were complete. The refreshments, tables & chairs, Holt's DJ table, and all decorations were up and arranged. Chaperones Headmistress Bloodgood and Mr. Rotter were speaking to the parents who were also serving as chaperones, thanking them for their time and assistance. Margaret Rosenblatt introduced herself pleasantly to Vera Pirella, but found her aristocratic attitude disconcerting, and chose to converse with Grace or the teachers as the students began to arrive.

Claire had arrived early with Jackson to help set up, and was already dressed in her gothic best; knee-length black satin and lace layered off-the-shoulder dress, high-heeled boots over fishnets, black elbow-length fingerless lace gloves. She had done her hair into short twin pony-tails with her blue streak highlighting the left one.

Meanwhile, all the guys were picking up their ghouls for the dance. Kenny offered his Jeep—now with the cover on—to carpool with Duncan and Clawdeen, as well as pick up Frankie. When Frankie opened the door, Kenny's jaw dropped. She was wearing a fancy, one-shouldered version of her blue & black plaid short dress and had her hair tied up in a high segmented pony-tail.

"Wow", he said as she smiled at him, "Just….wow."

"That's so sweet, Kenny", she said, giving him a kiss before walking to the Jeep with him. "You look great, too."

"Thanks, Frankie", he said with a touch of pride. He was in almost all black, with a long black jacket over his royal-blue dress-shirt and black jeans and sneakers and his normally messy hair combed loosely back.

A few minutes later, they pulled into Clawdeen's driveway, and Duncan jumped out and rang the bell. When she opened the door, Duncan was floored. She looked stunning. Black, short, tight skirt hemmed with black lace, purple & silver pattern top, black vest with black faux fur collar, her black & purple buckle-strap boots, her hair styled long & wavy and swept mostly to the right side of her head with purple highlights, and the look was topped off with the necklace that he had given her.

"You look absolutely furr-ific", he said with a big smile.

"Right back at ya, Hot-Stuff", she grinned. She checked him out approvingly starting from his sandals. He was wearing black jeans with a studded leather belt, his sleeveless biker jacket over a crimson dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a loosely tied black tie. She smiled wider when she noticed that the shirt was one that she had modified for his wings.

They arrived at the dance, cast their votes for Homecoming King and Queen, and quickly found the rest of their friends either dancing or gathered at a few close tables. Margaret waved to them obviously, causing some mild embarrassment for Duncan and Kenny. Nefera prowled the room discreetly, her eyes never leaving Duncan.

Holt put on a slow song, and couples converged on the dance-floor: Duncan & Clawdeen, Frankie & Kenny, Cleo and Deuce, Romulus & Howleen, Draculaura & Clawd, Jinafire & Chad, Avia & Neighthan, Ghoulia & Slo-Mo, Raythe & Twyla, Thad & Jinx, etc. Even Claire and Holt danced together up behind his DJ table.

A few songs later, many of the group took seats together at a few tables, and Duncan headed for the refreshment table to get a drink for his date, as well as one for himself.

'It's now or never', Nefera thought to herself, and went to intercept him. With a large cup of punch in each hand, Duncan was on his way back….only to find Nefera blocking his way.

"Hi, Duncan", she smirked seductively.

"Nefera", he said politely. "What do you…mmmffff?!" She had grabbed his head and kissed him full on the lips before he could react. She kissed him so hard that when she released him, he recoiled back a step or two. She looked at him expectantly with a smile of victory on her face, as he opened his eyes and stared in shock for a moment. Then he focused on her.

" ** _WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, NEFERA_**?!", Duncan shouted angrily, and the music 'record-scratched' to a halt, and the attention of everyone in the room turned the scene unfolding on the dance-floor. "YOU **KNOW** I'M WITH CLAWDEEN!"

Nefera was shocked. Why didn't the potion work?! She was ** _positive_** she had brewed and used it correctly!

"She'll **never** understand you like I do, Duncan!"

"I've been nice and polite up 'til now, Nefera", he growled. "How many times do I have to reject your advances before you 'get it'? I LOVE CLAWDEEN!"

"You belong with a Royal like **me** , Duncan!", she yelled. "YOU'RE A PRINCE!"

This drew murmurs from the crowd, as Clawdeen, Kenny, Frankie, and Jin struggled to reach him through the crowd.

"I LOVE CLAWDEEN! AND SHE LOVES ME! DEAL WITH IT!"

Nefera's eyes widened. She remembered what the scroll said; it was the most powerful love potion in the world…but like all others, it was powerless to sway **true love.** Sphinx! Her rage was overwhelming.

"DO YOU THINK SHE'D STILL LOVE YOU IF SHE KNEW YOU WERE **HALF-KAIJU?!** THE **_PRINCE_** OF KAIJU?!" she shouted, then gasped when she realized what she'd done.

A wave of gasps passed through everyone in the room, several students backed away from him. He slumped, seeing his fellow students fear him…. ** _again_**.

"YES! I **_DO_** STILL LOVE HIM!", Clawdeen shouted as she reached him, and took his hand in hers. "And I already knew! He told me **weeks** ago!"

"And so what if he's half-kaiju?", Frankie said to the crowd, as she stood next to her friends.

"He's still the same friend we have all made this year!", Cleo added when she joined them.

"Still the same player that helped us win all our games so far!", Clawd said.

"Still the same dude who stood up to Torq and his Horde", Deuce added, fist-bumping Duncan.

"And he's not the only hybrid here", Avia chimed in as she and the other hybrids joined them.

"That's what Monster High is all about", Clawdeen reminded them. "Be Yourself, Be Unique, Be a **Monster!** "

Everyone there cheered and applauded, while Nefera shrank.

"You might want to **leave** , Nefera", Clawdeen told the mummy in a warning tone. "Like, **_now_** , before I lose my temper!"

Nefera huffed and stomped off.

"Well, now that that's over", the Headmistress said. "All the votes have been counted. This year's Homecoming King and Queen are—rather appropriately—Duncan Rosenblatt and Clawdeen Wolf!"

There was more cheers and applause as they accepted their crowns with big smiles, hugged each other and shared a kiss. Holt put on a slow song for their "coronation dance". While all the other couples took to the floor, a soft spotlight shown on them as they danced together. Held in Duncan's arms, Clawdeen looked lovingly into his eyes, and he kissed her deeply. Breaking the kiss, she laid her head against his chest.

When the song ended, the couple was mobbed by their friends congratulating them. Even Holt and Claire stepped down from the DJ table briefly during the next song to put in their two cents. All of his secrets were out, and for the first time in his life, Duncan felt completely free and accepted by his peers. He kissed Clawdeen again.

Lurking in the periphery of the dance, Vanna was watching Kenny…..watching…..and stalking. His delicious scent was crystal clear to her amid the perfumes and aftershaves of all those attending. She glanced at her mother, who nodded. Vanna began to slowly work her way closer to Kenny, circling like a predator. She was admiring him, and the progress of his change thus far. He seemed more confident and graceful as he danced. He was even dressing like a vampire now! Oh, he would be the **_ideal_** mate when the change was complete!

She had dressed specifically for the occasion; a blood-red corset over black lacey off-the-shoulder top and black leather & lace mini-skirt, her generous breasts pushed up showing a scandalous amount of cleavage, and matching red high-heels. Her look was topped off with her gold and ruby bat-necklace and bracelets.

Vanna managed to move in behind Frankie while she danced with Kenny as the next song started.

 _I've been watching you for long enough_

She tapped Frankie on the shoulder, shoved her aside when she turned, and grabbed Kenny and danced away to his and Frankie's surprise.

 _To know you're making a thing for the one I love_

 _Now I don't blame you for looking_

 _But you better not touch._

Kenny tried to resist, go back to Frankie… 'Stay with me, Kenny!', he heard in his mind, as her powers took hold of him. She had him dancing in step with her.

 _Hand's Off!_

 _He belongs to me,_

 _Hand's Off!_

 _He's my private property,_

 _Hand's Off!_

Frankie grabbed Kenny back when he spun close to her, and danced between him and Vanna. His eyes cleared, and his confused look told her that this wasn't his idea, his eyes pleading for her help as he danced with her.

 _I'll tell you just one last time..._

 _The boy is mine._

Clearly dancing with his ghoulfriend again, Kenny did an air-guitar solo which ended with him kneeling away from her….to find Vanna in front of him. 'You're MINE, Kenny!', echoed in his mind as she drew him back up with a red-nailed finger under his chin, her control taking hold again. The dance-floor was clearing as this dance-battle got noticed, many students clapping in-time with the music.

 _I'm in no mood for competition,_

 _I've got no time for playing games._

 _I've no intention to share him,_

 _With anyone else._

Vanna danced into Kenny's arms, bent down, and bit off the top button of his shirt; much to the irritation of Frankie.

 _Oh!_

 _Hand's Off!_

 _He belongs to me,_

Frankie danced back in, between them and grabbed Kenny away again. Again, his mind cleared and he danced with her. Then he heard Vanna's call again luring him away.

 _Hand's Off!_

 _He's my private property,_

 _Hand's Off!_

 _I'll tell you just one last time_

 _The boy is mine._

During the instrumental, Vanna drew Kenny in close and was about to kiss him….when Frankie pulled him away and behind her, and glared at Vanna in defiant challenge. Vanna Bare her fangs then held her claw-like nails in front of her threateningly, causing Frankie to back away a few steps until she had enough. She grabbed Vanna's hands as they grappled briefly, until Kenny tried to separate them, only to end up as the 'rope' in a tug-of-war between them, comically back-&-forth in-step and in-tune with the music.

 _I've no intention to share him,_

 _With anyone else._

The next instrumental found Kenny dancing from one to the other, his feelings for Frankie pulling against Vanna's mental powers, until he was practically spinning in a circle in total confusion. Finally, Frankie grabbed him and kissed him deeply on the lips, and Vanna's hypnotic hold snapped. Kenny and Frankie broke the kiss and began dancing together in perfect synch, to the cheers of everyone. Vanna stormed off, followed by her mother.

 _Hand's Off!_

 _He belongs to me,_

 _Hand's Off!_

 _He's my private property,_

 _Hand's Off!_

 _I'll tell you just one last time_

 _The boy is mine._

"Damn that Frankie!", Vanna cursed as she stomped away. "Sphinx! What happened? How did he resist me, Mother?"

"Only True Love vould have **any** chance of breaking the mental hold of a pure-blood", Vera hissed. "Fear not, my daughter. There is more than vone vay to skin a cat!"

The two vampires slipped away unnoticed, as everyone was watching Kenny and Frankie dance.

 _Hand's Off!_

 _Ooohh the boy oohh the boy is mine_

 _He's mine, he's mine his mine..._

 _The boy is mine!_

They took a bow to the cheers of everyone, then headed back to the tables they were sharing with their friends.

"That was clawesome, you two!", Duncan said, clapping his foster bro on the back.

"Totes!", Draculaura squealed and clapped.

"But what was all that with Vanna, Kenny?", Clawdeen asked. "It was like you two knew each other."

"I got no clue", Kenny replied, scratching his head. "I don't remember ever meeting her before, but it was like there was a voice in my head that I couldn't ignore."

"Well, she's gone now", Cleo said.

"Good!", Frankie scowled. "She was really sparking my bolts! Dancing with my boyfriend! The nerve!"

"Kenny?", Deuce asked when he saw Kenny staring at the mirror-wall behind them, a terrified look on his face. "Dude, are you ok?"

"L-l-look!", he stammered, pointing.

They turned to look, not noticing anything odd for a moment, until Frankie gasped and started waving her hand behind Kenny….and seeing the refection of it **through** the transparent reflection of Kenny!

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Well, the whole school now knows all of Duncan's secrets…..and they've accepted him! Was there ever any real doubt? LOL!**

 **As I've mentioned before, I am an 80's guy. And when I first came up with the idea of the Frankie/Kenny/Vanna triangle, the 'dance-battle' scene and song from "Once Bitten" fit perfectly! Oh, it's not over! There's no way Vanna is giving up on Kenny! But what's gonna happen? Wait and see! LOL!**

 **xxXXxx**


	24. Chapter 23

**_Hey, everyone! This chapter is gonna be a fun ride! Enjoy!_**

 **Chapter 23**

Margaret, Duncan, Clawdeen, Frankie, Kenny, and Draculaura were all gathered in the Headmistress' office, while she spoke on the phone with the North American Elder Council. The dance was still going on when they came to Grace with Kenny's 'problem'. After the discovery in the mirror, Draculaura helped find the faint evidence of the vampire bite on Kenny. Knowing the ban on 'turning', Grace immediately escorted them to her office to call the monster authorities while Draculaura called her father for advice.

"No, the change is not complete", Grace said into the phone. "But his transparent reflection confirms that it is obviously advanced, and the law…. I see. Is there anything that can be done?"

"Yes, we're sure it's Vanna Pirella who did it, Daddy", Draculaura said into her iCoffin.

Margaret was equal parts furious and terrified by what was happening. She was tempted to use the crystal to call Belloc. As a member of the Monster Council of Royals, she was sure he could do something. But the 'proper procedure' was to first contact the regional Elder Council on matters of monster law, which Grace was doing now. The Headmistress hung up the phone.

"Well?", Margaret asked anxiously.

"There is nothing the Elder Council can do", Grace sighed.

"WHAT?!", Margaret screamed. "We all know the law here!"

"Unfortunately, Vera Pirella; Vanna's mother, contacted the council weeks ago concerning an exceptionally rare occurrence…..and it involves Kenny", Grace explained. "Vanna is a pure-blood and somehow discovered that Kenny was the potential 'perfect mate' for her under conditions so rare, that the Monster Council of Royals long ago made it the 'loop-hole' in the ban on turning."

"What kind of 'rare conditions'?", Margaret asked.

"Weeeeellll", Draculaura started, a bit uncomfortable, hanging up her iCoffin. "From what my Dad told me; his body and soul must be 'pure and ripe' and he has some kind of 'unknown unique quality' to him. The combination is so rare that it was made the exception to the ban on turning."

"So I'd become a vampire?", Kenny asked, embarrassed at being outed as a virgin. "Well, at least I could transfer here and be with Frankie more."

"Kenny!", both Duncan and Margaret exclaimed.

"No, Kenny", Grace sighed. "If the process continues and she completes your change, you will **only** be with Vanna. The ritual and conditions will make you **her** mate…forever."

"What?! No!", Kenny yelled, embracing Frankie. "I love Frankie! I'd never leave her!"

"According to my Dad", Draculaura said sadly, "you'll have no choice. Your body, mind, heart and soul will only want Vanna."

"Can anything be done?", Duncan asked.

"They're not breaking monster law", Grace said. "So the Council will not interfere."

"But that doesn't mean we can't protect Kenny ourselves, according to my Dad", Draculaura said hopefully. "If the ritual is not completed, it **might** be possible to reverse the change."

"Good! Great!", Kenny said. "Let's….do **that!** "

"What he said", Frankie said, hugging her boyfriend.

"Clawdeen", Duncan turned to his ghoulfriend, "please tell Clawd about all this, and that until this is over, Abby will have fill in for me on the team."

"Sure thing, Hon", she replied, kissing his cheek.

"What about school?", Kenny asked.

"You should be safe during the day, so you can still go", Draculaura said.

"And I'll protect you the rest of the time, Bro", Duncan said, placing a reassuring hand on Kenny's shoulder.

"Thanks, Bro", he smiled.

xxXXxx

A few days passed since the Homecoming Dance. Margaret had consulted the Steins, Dracula, and Boodika Le Fey to find a way to return Kenny to normal. They had some ideas, but nothing concrete yet, and all were dependent on preventing Vanna from finishing what she started. The 'old school' solution; killing her, would've solved all their problems, but that was not an option in this day and age.

Meanwhile, Chad kept an eye on Kenny while they were at school, while Duncan took over the rest of the time. Frankie visited Kenny at home almost every day, and Clawdeen helped out whenever she could. Altogether, Kenny was never unprotected. Twice, Vanna attempted to mentally call Kenny outside to her under cover of night; only for Duncan to restrain him from leaving.

"Vell, my daughter?", Vera asked when Vanna returned.

"You were right, Mother", Vanna smirked. "They are protecting him at all times, and way Frankie has been looking at me at school tells me that they believe they have stopped us."

"Excellent", Vera grinned. "Then ve are ready, just as ve planned. Gather the others."

xxXXxx

The following day Margaret was going over some books of vampire lore, hoping to find a way to help Kenny. She took a break to eat lunch in the backyard. She had just finished and was deep in thought, when she suddenly felt she wasn't alone. Before she could react, she was seized from behind and a hand over her mouth. A spiky-haired vampire then looked into her eyes and told her to, " _Sleep_."

xxXXxx

After fear-leading practice Clawdeen headed for Boodika Le Fey's classroom to see if the elder witch had found anything helpful in her books. She passed by a vampire at his locker on the way and had just turned a corner…when a smelly cloth covered her mouth and nose and a strong arm restrained her from behind. She struggled…..then the world went black.

xxXXxx

Frankie was walking home as quickly as she could, intending to help her parents research into curing her boyfriend. They had only been dating a short time, and she'd had boyfriends before, but Kenny was special. He was sweet, smart, funny, brave, and just plain adorable. She didn't care that he was a normie, just that they love each other. She would do anything to help save him.

"Hey, Frankie! Wait up!", called a feminine voice behind her. Frankie turned to see Gory Fangtell running to catch up with her.

"Hey, Gory", Frankie greeted the vampire politely. She was confused, because they knew each other but had never exactly been friends. "What's up? I'm kinda in a hurry."

"Yeah, I heard", Gory said. "Too bad about what's going on with your normie boyfriend". Gory looked into Frankie's eyes and slid her glasses down, "You must be **really** stressed out. I think you really need to _relax and...sleeeeeeeep._ "

xxXXxx

"Clawdeen…..Clawdeen, wake up!"

Clawdeen heard her name through the slowly clearing fog, as she tried to open the lead weights that were her eyelids. She groaned as she sat-up and shook the rest of the fog away. Her vision cleared to reveal her boyfriend's mom sitting by her side.

"Thank goodness", Margaret breathed. "Are you all right?"

"Wha-what did they hit me with?"

"I'm not sure, but it had to be a lot stronger than ether or chloroform for it affect a werewolf."

Clawdeen looked around as she became more lucid, and saw that they were in a cage…..hanging by a chain…..over a lava-flow. They had to be somewhere in the catacombs.

"I see you're awake", a male voice said nearby. They looked over to the ledge, and Clawdeen recognised Bram Devein, a vampire student. "Surprising. That essence of wolfs-bane should've kept you out cold for at least another hour."

"Bram!", Clawdeen snarled. "What the hell is going on? Why do you have us here?"

"It's nothing personal, Clawdeen", he said. "I'm not your enemy. It's just better that no one interfere in a sacred vampire rite."

Margaret's eyes widened and Clawdeen snarled. Kenny!

"Don't you **dare** touch my son!", Margaret yelled.

"Why are you so against this?", Bram asked, mildly perplexed. "He's gonna be **immortal**. It's an exceptionally rare honor these days."

"Duncan will **never** let that happen!", Clawdeen growled. Bram smiled and took out Clawdeen's iCoffin. He took a picture of them.

"He's the reason the two of you are **here** ", he smirked as he tapped out a text message, and attached the pic to it. "Aaaaand **send.** That should bring him running to rescue you."

"After the last attempt, I put defenses around the house, just in case!" Margaret said. "Kenny will be safe inside long enough!"

"Only if he's **inside** , correct?", Bram smirked. "So if he decides to leave…?"

"And why would he do…..?", Clawdeen started to ask with a smirk until her eyes widened with realization, "Frankie!"

"She'll be waiting for him at Castle Pirella", Bram smirked once again. "Don't worry. She will not be harmed." Then he turned into a bat and flew away into the tunnels.

xxXXxx

Duncan and Kenny were pacing the floor. Their mom was always home when they got home from school, especially now. That the house was empty was strange….and alarming. They checked that the defenses were still in place, then tried calling her phone….to hear it ringing in the back yard, where Duncan retrieved it.

"This isn't good", he said. Just then, his phone howled; a text from Clawdeen. He checked, to find a pic of Clawdeen and his mom in cage! It looked like it was hanging over a lava-flow in the catacombs! And the text attached:

'U better hurry. This part of the catacombs is dangerous!'

Duncan seethed in anger! Growling, he showed the message to Kenny, who looked even more worried.

"Kenny, stay inside! I'm going to save them!", he said as he dialed his phone. "Clawd! It's Duncan! Clawdeen and my mom are in trouble and I need your help! Meet me at the school's entrance to the catacombs as fast as you can!"

"You got it!", Clawd said on his end. "I'm at Draculaura's right now. She'll drive me!"

"I can help!", Kenny protested.

" ** _No_** , Kenny!", Duncan said adamantly. "Stay in the house where it's safe! There are too many ways you could get separated from me out there!"

"Fine", Kenny said grudgingly. "Bring them back safe!"

"I will!", Duncan replied as he took wing to the school.

xxXXxx

"Bram just sent the photo-message, and is on his way back here", Gory said after hanging up her iCoffin. "Duncan should be on his way to the catacombs now."

"Good", Vanna grinned. "We'll give it a few minutes before I make my move."

"Whatever it is, it **won't** work!", Frankie spat, tied to a chair in the parlor of Vanna's opulent home. "Kenny's house has wards set up to keep you **and** your mental influence out!"

"True", Vanna smirked. "That's why I need him to decide to come out on his own."

"Ha! And **why** would he do that?"

Vanna smirked maliciously at her, holding the captive ghoul's iCoffin, and then she realized; "He'd do it… to **save** … ** _me_**."

"Exactly", Vanna grinned. "I won't even have to go get him. He'll come **here;** right to me."

xxXXxx

Clawd and Draculaura met Duncan at the school, and they entered the catacombs together.

"So do we know where we're going?", Clawd asked.

"That's why I called **you** ; your sense of smell is better than mine", Duncan admitted. "I know they're above a lava-flow, if that helps?"

Clawd nodded. "Let's go!"

"Totes!", Draculaura said with a determined look.

xxXXxx

It had been about ten minutes since Duncan left on his rescue mission. Kenny paced the floor with worry. All of this….just because some vampire prima-donna took a liking to him! He was so tense that he jumped sharply when his phone chirped a text alert. He smiled when he saw it was from Frankie's number. A smile that turned into a look of horror when he opened it! A photo of Frankie tied to a chair, and a text:

'She's at 911 Bludd Dr. Come alone and come quickly.'

This was the vampire's plan all along, he realized. He had to save his ghoulfriend! But he wasn't going to be stupid. He dressed for stealth; black pants, sneakers, hoodie and his long black coat. Then he 'loaded up'. When Boodika Le Fey came over to help with the wards and defenses, she had also given them a small supply of Blessed Water. As a Wiccan High Priestess, she could bless water to make it effective against vampires; it would burn them like acid, so he filled a water-gun and tucked it into his coat. But he knew he would need help as well. He knew the Steins were busy with patients today, and that most of his and Duncan's monster friends would be at the library because of a big project due at the end of the week. So he tried the one number of the one student he was sure would be home.

"This is Cleo De Nile. How can my royal presence help you?"

"Cleo? It's Kenny. I need your help!"

"Really? What's up?", Cleo asked with a touch of suspicion.

"Frankie's been kidna…I mean monsternapped! Duncan is already on another rescue mission, and you're the only one who can help me!"

"Oh. My. Ra!", Cleo gasped, concerned for her friend. "Do you know where she is or who has her?"

"I have an address, and I'm pretty sure it's Vanna that has her", Kenny hissed.

"It wouldn't surprise me", Cleo huffed. "All right, I'll help. Pick me and Ghoulia up at my pyramid, and we'll go with you."

"Ghoulia's there?", Kenny asked.

"Of course! She always helps me study."

"Ok. I'll be there in five minutes."

xxXXxx

"Gotta be careful and quiet", Clawd whispered. "There's things in this part of the catacombs that're weird and dangerous, even by monster standards."

"Ok", Duncan said softly. "I'll keep an eye out and my guard up, but we gotta hurry! Which way?"

Clawd sniffed, and headed left. "This way!"

Draculaura and Duncan followed closely. Duncan was anxious. Not only were his mom and ghoulfriend in danger; but the longer it took to save them, the longer Kenny was unguarded. He had confidence in the wards and defenses on the house, but why take too many chances? He'd feel better once he got back home with everyone safe.

Three tunnels, two stairways, three doors, and two chambers later, they saw their destination. Up ahead, they saw the cage and their loved ones in a chamber at the end of another tunnel.

"Mom! Clawdeen!", Duncan called in relief.

"Duncan! Clawd! Draculaura!", Clawdeen shouted happily. "Get us outta here!"

Duncan flew from the ledge to the cage and wrenched the cage door open bare-handed.

"Clawd, catch my mom!", he said as he took Margaret's hand and swung her toward the ledge. The werewolf caught her carefully while Duncan flew back with Clawdeen.

Unknown to them, the noise echoed back the way they came….and dozens of pairs of glowing red eyes opened in the dark.

"We have to hurry, Duncan!", Margaret urged.

"I know", he said. "Kenny's alone."

"No, Duncan!", Clawdeen said. "They took Frankie, too! To lure him into a trap!"

"LET'S GO!", Duncan yelled. He should've seen this coming! **_Dammit!_** It was so diabolically devious and simple! First use Mom and Clawdeen to get him away from Kenny, then use Frankie to draw Kenny out!

"This way!", Clawd urged.

xxXXxx

"Will **this** do for sneaking around in style?", Cleo asked while posing in her black cape. "Sorry, but I do **not** wear hoodies."

"It should be fine, Cleo", Kenny said. "Right, Ghoulia?"

"Ah-huh", the zombie affirmed as she zipped up one of the extra black hoodies that Kenny brought. As they drove, Cleo confirmed that the address he was given was for Vanna's home. When they turned onto the street, Kenny switched off the Jeep's lights and switched completely to battery-drive to run silent; a handy option he and Duncan had put in his hybrid conversion. He parked nearby in some bushes, and they stealthily approached the house, using any cover they could find.

Vanna's home was impressive; like a gothic castle with Victorian and modern additions. Once they were close enough, they began to look for a way to sneak in. They eventually found an unlatched window to a basement room, and quietly opened it. Kenny took the lead, sliding gently to the floor and look around before helping the ghouls through the window. He took a few steps further, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw his own transparent reflection in a standing mirror.

"Looks like a storeroom", he said, after calming down a bit.

"Eeew, it's dusty!", Cleo complained softly. "Let's just find Frankie and get the sphinx out of here!"

A couple of doorways and twists later, they found the main room of the basement, and two sets of stairs upward; an old stone and brick set and a newer wooden staircase. Cleo headed to the newer stairs when Ghoulia stopped her.

"What?", she whispered impatiently.

"Aaieehuh."

"She's right", Kenny whispered, guessing what the smart zombie said. "Those might creak. Let's take these instead."

They reached the top of the stone stairs and pushed gently on what they assumed to be the door. It led into an unlit library, and the 'door' was a section of bookcase that swung closed behind them. Kenny had to smile in spite of himself, it was so cliché.

They quietly moved from room to room, twice they had to avoid wandering vampires. Judging by what was in the photo, Kenny was reasonably sure Frankie was being kept in a parlor in one of the modern sections of the eclectic house. They could hear conversations between groups of vampires as they went along, but they remained undiscovered. They saw a light coming from a half-open door and carefully looked inside….and saw Frankie bound and gagged in a chair.

"Frankie!", Kenny whispered, as he opened the door and entered, followed by Cleo and Ghoulia. Frankie looked up with fear in her eyes as she shook her head and tried to speak through the gag.

"Are you ok?", Kenny asked his ghoulfriend as he removed the gag.

"No, Kenny! Get out of here!", she urged when he took the gag off. "It's a **trap!** "

"I'm **not** leaving without you!", he said bravely.

"How sweet", a saccharine voice said from the door. The would-be rescuers whirled to find Vanna, Gory, Bram, and a several more vampires from school standing there.

"And so **brave** , my sweet Kenny", Vanna grinned. "That's how I **_knew_** you would come. But I'll admit, I expected to find you before you got this far. You are **truly** worthy to be mine for eternity!"

She turned to the other vampires. "Bring all four of them. My mother will preside over the final stage of the ritual, and the ghouls shall bear witness."

xxXXxx

Duncan, Clawdeen, Draculaura, Clawd, and Margaret just entered a large chamber on their way out of the catacombs, when they heard the unearthly screeching of a horde of creatures swarm down on them from above. They resembled small, slimy, green, red-eyed, octopus-headed gargoyles.

"Oh no, not these things again!", Draculaura cried as they began to fight them, and Clawd ripped one that got too close to her in half.

"Ugh! What are these ugly things?", Margaret asked as she ducked under the attack of one.

"Scargoyles!", Clawdeen growled as she slashed another with her claws. "Nasty pests! We either gotta escape or kill 'em until the rest run away!"

Margaret grabbed a torch and used it like a burning club, smacking any scargoyle that came close. Clawd and Clawdeen snarled and growled as they slashed with their claws. Draculaura turned into a bat and fought them in the air. Duncan slashed and smashed with his claws, strength, and some of the martial arts moves he learned from Jin. It seemed that for every scargoyle that fell, another took its place.

"We don't have time for this!", Duncan snarled as he ripped the squid-head off of one that got too close. "Everyone get down!"

The others all hit the floor as Duncan took a deep breath, then blasted the main swarm with a powerful stream of fire, incinerating the bulk of them. He then started blast a few of those that remained with fireballs, causing the rest to retreat deeper into the catacombs.

"Now let's get outta here and save Kenny and Frankie!", Duncan growled.

xxXXxx

Kenny and the ghouls were taken into the 'castle' part of the house to the 'ritual chamber' which resembled a small chapel lit by torches. There were many vampires in attendance, and at the far end of the room Vera stood beside something that looked like a cross between a torture and execution chair, except that it was set higher, like a bar-stool.

Kenny and the ghouls were marched up to the dias, where Vanna grinned. Vera looked at Gory and Bram.

"Bring him forward", she commanded. Kenny struggled as they dragged him up and turned him to sit in the chair. Then they pulled down his hood and secured him with a wide velcro strap across his chest and smaller ones at his wrists and ankles. Frankie struggled against the vampires holding her, to no avail. Vanna looked into Kenny's eyes.

"Remember", she told him. His mind was flooded with the memories that her hypnosis had suppressed; their first meeting at the Maul, when she drew him to her at the theatre, and the bites at each occasion. Through her power, he felt how his scent and blood affected her; he was elated….and disgusted.

"My sweet, dearest Kenny", Vanna spoke clearly, to be heard by all. "Twice, we have shared a mystical experience. And tonight….the holy third!" The gathered vampires hissed, "Yeeesssss. Hear-hear!"

"My daughter has found her perfect mate", Vera said, then turned to Vanna. "You must drink deeply of him, and before he reaches Death's Door, slash your wrist and make him drink deeply of you. Then vhen he avakens, he vill be one of **us** ….and **_yours_** for eternity!"

Vanna stepped up between Kenny's legs, her eyes filled with lust, a seductive sway to her step, and caressed his cheek lovingly.

"I don't want this!", Kenny said. "I love Frankie!"

Frankie's heart swelled and clenched. Vanna hissed, and pressed her full will into her hold on him, and he stopped struggling, entranced. Vanna caressed his chest, unzipping his hoodie, moving his collar to expose her bite area. She smiled with malicious joy as she licked her lips. She leaned in and bared her fangs….

" **NO!** ", Frankie screamed, and electricity surged through her, shocking her captors away from her. Cleo and Ghoulia were able to use the confusion to catch their captors by surprise. Cleo wrapped hers up in wrappings and Ghoulia elbowed hers in the gut, then they both grabbed torches to back up Frankie.

"Back off my boyfriend, Vanna!", Frankie said, her fingers still sparking. All the vampires hissed in anger, being held at bay by the ghouls while Vanna stepped back, pure malice on her face. Frankie turned to the entranced Kenny.

"Kenny! Snap out of it!", she said urgently. "It's me! Frankie! Please, Kenny! I LOVE YOU!"

"Frankie?", he said, turning to her, his eyes clearing. Frankie smiled and undid the straps holding him. She took his hand, and they began to walk carefully to the door, Cleo and Ghoulia keeping the vampires back with their torches. Vanna hissed and pressed her full will at Kenny again, and he stopped and turned back.

"We can be together, Kenny. Young and immortal, lovers forever. Come to me, Kenny."

Entranced, he took a halting step toward her. Frankie pulled him back and kissed him passionately, breaking the trance!

"Ahaieeuhuh!"

"Ghoulia's right! You two go quickly!", Cleo said.

"But what about….?", Kenny started to ask.

"They want **you,** not us! Get going!", Cleo urged as she and Ghoulia blocked the door behind their friends, wielding their torches, to keep the vampires at bay. Frankie placed a hand on Cleo's arm and gave her a smile of thanks.

"See you in school tomorrow!", she said, then grabbed Kenny and ran to find a way out. The vampires tried to get past the ghouls, who kept them back with the torches.

" **Enough of this!** ", Vera hissed. With a broad wave of her hand, the torches were extinguished, and the vampires swarmed past Cleo and Ghoulia.

"Split up!", Vera commanded. "Find them! They must **_not_** be allowed to escape!"

Vanna led one group as they split up to find and surround their targets, while two remained behind to hold the ghouls.

"Ugh! My father will hear about this!", Cleo griped as she was held.

Frankie and Kenny found a door: locked. Then two vampires found them and called out to the others before giving chase. Kenny and Frankie dashed through a door to find the library.

"This way!", Kenny said, and opened the bookcase door. They ran down the stone stairs and he turned them towards where he came in….to find a vampire blocking the way! They ran back and went up the wooden stairs this time, to find another hallway. They went left and found a door to the outside. Once there, they found it was a large enclosed courtyard. A vampire appeared out of nowhere and grabbed each of them by a shoulder. They kept running, dragging him along, until they slammed him into a pillar between them.

They went around the pool and were confronted again. This time, Kenny took out the water-gun and shot the vamp in the face. He screamed in pain, and Frankie shoved him into the pool, and they kept running. They found another door and entered, slamming the door into the face of another vampire.

They dashed down another wide hallway. Another group of vampires appeared out of an archway, and Kenny sprayed them, depleting his Blessed Water. The vampires behind the ones sprayed tripped over them, and they all fell like bowling pins.

"Bungling fools!", Vanna hissed from behind them.

"Vanna!", Vera called. "Cut through the home theatre and take the West corridor! I will go this way! The rest of you keep after them!" Vanna grinned knowingly.

"We have them now!", she smirked and followed her mother's instructions.

Bram and Gory suddenly cut off Kenny and Frankie. Kenny grabbed a nearby chair and slammed it against Bram, breaking it and stunning him, while Frankie zapped Gory. They dashed away, only to be cut off by Vera and four others. They turned right down a hallway, to be cut off this time by Vanna and several others. They went down some stairs to the indoor spa. To the right were 3 more vampires, so they ran left through an archway to some double doors. They went through to find….they were trapped in a lounge with no way out. They ran back to the doors, latched and barricaded them.

"Think that will hold until help gets here?", Kenny asked.

"We can hope, but I doubt it", Frankie said, as they heard the first assault on the doors.

Outside, Vera and Vanna arrived, each grinning maliciously.

"Ve have them now.", Vera said triumphantly.

"Get through those doors!", Vanna told the others. "Then Kenny will be **mine** for eternity!"

Inside, Kenny and Frankie prayed that help would arrive in time. Sitting on a couch, dreading the moment the doors would give way, Frankie wracked her brain, trying to find a solution. Then she remembered what Draculaura had said about the 'special conditions' for the loop-hole of turning. It **couldn't** be that simple, could it? It was worth a try!

"Kenny, how much do you love me?", Frankie asked, taking his hand.

"With all my heart", he replied, looking into her eyes.

"Do you trust me?", she asked, blushing.

"Completely."

"Then just go with me on this", she said, as she leaned in and kissed him passionately, pressing her body against his. She could feel the bulge in his pants growing as she slid a hand over it and started to unbuckle his belt.

xxXXxx

It had been nearly twenty minutes, and the doors were nearly open. Vanna suddenly felt her connection to Kenny snap and disappear.

"Something's wrong!", she snarled. "Get those damn doors open **NOW!** "

The doors came open a few minutes later, to show Kenny's back to them, and Frankie blushing furiously as she straightened her skirt. Vanna knew something was off, then sniffed deeply. Kenny's scent had _changed!_ It was no longer the intoxicatingly sweet and alluring aroma it was just a short time ago. How can that be? Then Kenny turned to face them as he buckled his belt back up.

" **WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!** ", Vanna screeched, as Vera hissed behind her.

"We consummated our love", Frankie smirked.

"So I guess that means I'm no longer 'pure', am I right?", Kenny smiled.

" **NO!** ", Vanna cried.

"You vill both pay **dearly** for denying my daughter her rightful mate!", Vera hissed.

" **I DON'T THINK SO!** ", a voice roared from behind the vampires. They all turned to see a very angry Duncan and an equally angry Clawdeen, just as Clawd, Draculaura, and Margaret came up behind them.

"In fact, I think you're gonna let my brother, his ghoulfriend, and our other friends leave right now; or I'm gonna get really mad and start incinerating things!"

The vampires hurriedly parted in fear, allowing Kenny and Frankie to pass and join their friends, who all turned to leave.

"Good luck trying to cure him of his change!",Vera sneered. "It is so advanced that it vill continue slowly on its own. He **vill** become one of us, even if he is no longer connected to my daughter!"

"We'll see about that", Margaret said boldly.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Whew! This was a long chapter! But it was fun to write, and it all but brings the 'vampire arc' to a close; just gotta cure Kenny now. This chapter was heavily inspired by the movie "Once Bitten" from 1985. I knew I wanted Frankie to be the one to save Kenny from a fate worse than death; True Love conquering all and all that, but Duncan and the others got to be the cavalry!**

 **The lemon of Kenny and Frankie will appear soon in my rated 'M' work; "You Make Lemonade"!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are always welcome, and please feel free to recommend my work to your friends!**

 **xxXXxx**


	25. Chapter 24

**_Hey, everyone! Mostly filler and set-up for later in this chapter. A couple of guest stars that I don't own, and a big surprise! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 24

Thursday afternoon Duncan, Kenny, and Chad were training with Jinafire in the Rosenblatt backyard. She had given Kenny and Chad several moves to practice in their styles, and the two were sparring. This allowed her to focus on Duncan's chi training; controlling the 'fire within', letting it flow with power and fine control, and tapping it for greater strength. She was impressed with his progress.

Margaret came out, speaking on her phone. She hung up with a look of hope on her face.

"Boys", she called, getting their attention, and Jin's, too. "That was Ms. Le Fey. She and the Steins think they may have a way cure Kenny. They want us at their clinic ASAP."

"Then let's go!", Kenny said eagerly.

They all piled into Margaret's SUV and drove to the clinic. Frankie greeted them at the door and, after hugging Kenny, led them to the greenhouse attached to the back of the mansion. Although the Steins kept up with cutting edge medicine, often being those creating it, they also followed holistic medicine, and remained open to magickal methods as well. Thus, they grew a great many herbs, roots, and fruits with medicinal properties in their greenhouse.

Frankie led them to her parents, Ms. Le Fey, and Neighthan. There was also a clinic bed, monitor and IV equipment in a particularly sunny spot in the greenhouse.

"Margaret", Viveka greeted her friend and nodded to the teens.

"Viveka, Viktor", Margaret replied. "So what have you come up with?"

"It's rather complicated", Viktor answered. "But it's a treatment that combines what amounts to diluted forms of defenses against vampires and methods of healing."

"Boodika helped us make liquid extracts of healing and immune-boosting herbs and Blessed Water, which we've combined with essence of garlic and vitamin d to make an IV solution", Viveka explained.

"I also suggested as much sun exposure as possible during treatment", Boodika added.

"Which got me thinking to use the greenhouse during Kenny's stay", Viktor said. "Plus a UV/sun lamp when the sun isn't available."

"Wait", Kenny said. "My 'stay'?"

"Yes, Kenny", Viveka said. "The IV solution is diluted to ease the effects, so treatment will take two days, at least."

"Why not just hit me with the full strength stuff and get it over with?", he asked.

"Because with how advanced your change is so far", Boodika explained, "taking it straight could do more harm than good."

"And I'm here to ease any side-effects or discomfort with my healing magick", Neighthan explained. "Especially when this stuff first hits your system."

"Ok", Kenny said. "Let's get started."

"First", Viktor said, handing him a grey flannel shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants and pointing to a changing screen nearby, "change into these."

"Thanks", Kenny said as he did as instructed. "I really hate regular exam gowns."

When he came back out, the doctors told him to get comfortable, attached sensors to his chest, and prepped his arm for the IV. Everyone crossed their fingers as the IV was inserted into his vein and started dripping. After a moment, they all let out the breath they were holding.

"Well", Kenny smiled, "so far, so goo… **aaAUUUGHHH! IT BURNS!** "

His pulse increased dramatically and he writhed in pain!

"Help me hold him down!", Viktor yelled, and Duncan did as he said.

"It's hurting him!", Margaret cried.

"GET IT OUT!", Kenny screamed. Frankie, terrified and wanting to end her boyfriend's pain, reached for the IV, but her mother stopped her.

"We thought this might happen", she said. "Neighthan! Help him!"

"Hold him still!", the unicorn-zombie hybrid said as he placed one hand on Kenny's chest and the other on his head. Neighthan's horn glowed as he tapped his healing magick, and Kenny stopped thrashing and calmed down as the pain subsided.

"Aw man, that really hurt", Kenny panted, tears of pain rolling down his cheeks. Frankie gingerly wiped them away and gave him a tender kiss on the lips.

"You're brave to even try treatment", she said, gently stroking his hair. "Mom, Dad? I want to stay beside him tonight….if that's ok with you, Mrs. Rosenblatt?"

"I can't think of a better nurse than you, Frankie", Margaret smiled knowingly. The ghoul blushed, then looked to her parents; the doctors. Her father had not been happy that his daughter had had sex so soon in her young life, but grudgingly understood that she did it with the boy she loved in order to save him. He shared a look with his wife and shrugged with a half-smile. Viveka smiled at their daughter.

"Very well, dear, we'll get you a chair", she said. "But you'll monitor him as you would any patient, like a real nurse. You'll record his vitals every hour and note any change in his condition, understood?"

"Yes, Mom!", Frankie smiled brightly. "Thank you!"

"Looks like you're stuck with me", Kenny quipped with a smirk.

"Shut up and get some rest, you", she giggled, and kissed him gently. Duncan and Margaret smiled knowingly.

"Take good care of my bro, ok, Frankie?"

"I will, Duncan."

xxXXxx

Veron entered his master's chamber and waited obediently. The command chair rotated until Obsidious Blackstar was looking down at him.

"By your command", Veron said, briefly bowing his head.

"Speak."

"We have remained on course, as commanded. We can now confirm that the tracking signal is indeed emanating from the same planet as the other signals we have been monitoring."

Obsidious grinned. It appears that his niece has somehow stranded herself. Something else he shall point out when he proves to those fools on the Council that they should have followed his plan of action to save their people in the first place.

"As you commanded, we have continued to monitor those transmissions. We have learned that the planet is called 'Earth', has one natural satellite, several continents of widely varying environments, two polar ice-caps, and that roughly 70% of the surface is covered by water. There are a great many cities and infrastructure to support them and a native population numbering in the billions. This 'Earth' also has a veritable cornucopia of raw materials and resources."

The Psion chuckled maliciously. This was almost **_too_** perfect! None of the planets that they had received data for were near as perfect as this! All of them, while capable of sustaining life, required not only varying amounts of terraforming but also a constant struggle to survive for decades—generations even-before they could begin to be the thriving culture they once were. On this planet it could be done within a solar year!

"Maintain course and speed, and continue to monitor all transmissions and report any new information to me regularly."

"By your command", Veron bowed as he turned to leave.

xxXXxx

Lord Stoker was not enjoying his exile. Ever since his niece claimed her rightful place as Queen, he and his most loyal followers have had to un-live as virtual nomads. It was so beneath a vampire of his stature! He still had sympathizers in the vampire court, but they were few and there was little they could do for him.

This 'charming' little hamlet they resided in now was suitably remote and untraveled, so he'd allowed himself and his followers to indulge in the blood of the locals. It would run out soon, and they would move on. This particular evening, he was rather enjoying the attractive woman he was draining. He was tempted to turn her, make her his consort….but no; adding to their number was not a luxury he could afford now.

"Lord Stoker, I presume", a voice said as he finished his repast. He dropped his bled-out victim and turned, hissing in warning to see who _dared_ call him by name. He saw a tall, rather ugly hag of a woman with yellowish-green skin, dark green hair topped by a wide-brimmed conical hat, and what appeared to be four arms. She was wearing a long, form-fitting black sheath dress. In one of her hands she held a broomstick. A witch.

"Who dares to disturb my meal?", he demanded.

"Forgive my rudeness", she grinned, bowing her head slightly. "I am Revolta, the Witch of the Web."

"Bah! I have heard of you.", he scoffed. "A witch who delved into magick so dark and evil that it twisted your mind and body. Begone!"

"Ah, but I come bearing an opportunity", she smirked.

"Vhat could you possibly have that vould be of **any** interest to me?", he sneered.

"A chance to reclaim your rightful place as leader of all vampires", the witch grinned maliciously.

 ** _This_** caught his interest! But…

"Ha! Such a thing is far beyond the power of a mere witch! Now begone!", he scoffed. He turned to walk away, only to have his way blocked by another figure that just appeared from nowhere. A ghost. He was easily as tall as Stoker, but had a bigger build. He was wearing a flare-collared red-lined white cape, a light grey suit, black gloves, boots, and belt. His eyes were red and his black hair had jagged streak of white in the middle and styled into horn-like flares on each side.

"True", the ghost said with a wicked grin. "Fortunately, she won't be your only ally. Vlad Plasmius, at your service."

Stoker raised an eye-brow, mildly impressed. He had heard of the evil half-ghost, arch-enemy of the new Ghost King, Danny Phantom. This was getting interesting.

"Very well", he said to the two. "Vhat do you propose?"

"The Monster Council of Royals has grown soft", Revolta spat. "Trying to co-exist with the normies as equals is a fools' errand!"

"Monsters have powers far beyond them", Vlad continued. "We should be ruling over them, and using them as we see fit."

"Agreed", Stoker said. "So vhat do ve do about it?"

"We gather other, powerful like-minded monsters, and form a new Council", Revolta smirked. "We three and our benefactor are the first. We must find and recruit others and followers. Then we work together to overthrow the Council and put our own in their place."

"Then the world….", Vlad grinned.

"Vould be ours", Stoker finished. "You must admit, it is ambitious, and it von't be easy. Who is our fourth?"

"You'll meet him soon enough", Vlad promised. "For now, I'll tell you that he helped me escape the Ghost World's most secure prison; from a cell designed specifically for me."

"And he helped restore my full powers after Boodika Le Fey nearly destroyed me years ago", Revolta said, scowling at the memory.

Stoker had to admit, the offer was tempting. To rule once again. To be able to feed upon and turn normies at will, like it was in times past. But it was risky, almost terminally so. And the biggest reason for that—literally—was Belloc, King of the Kaiju. And yet these two seemed confident of success. Then he felt the tremors…like the foot-steps of a giant. Then he saw the other two looking upward. He followed their gaze, to see a huge dark form and two large, glowing eyes. Fear shot through his black heart. A Kaiju!

"Well, Stoker?", a deep voice rumbled from above. "Are you in? Or will you live out your immortal life as a homeless wanderer?"

"Very well", the former vampire lord said, bristling at the reminder of his current state. "I vill join you."

The unknown kaiju chuckled evilly, as did Revolta and Vlad.

"Vhat is our first move?", Stoker asked.

"We have other council members to find and recruit", Vlad said. "As well as followers who can be useful."

"My crystal ball has revealed some of those we seek", Revolta said.

"Then let's get started", Stoker grinned.

xxXXxx

Van Hellscream was in a good mood. His lab techs were busy replicating the Nth metal, and the crate he had been expecting from Greece arrived today. As he pried the lid off, Lilith came in.

"Oooooh! What do we have here, dear Uncle?", she asked brightly.

"Some new pieces for my antique arsenal, Lilith", he replied as he began removing items from the crate.

"The Sword of Perseus; with which he beheaded a gorgon and slew the twisted fiend Calibos.

"The Bow and Arrows of Bellerophon; which killed the Chimera.

"The Spear of Atalanta; which brought down the Calydonian Boar.

"Theseus' Daggers; the blades that he concealed and carried into the Labyrinth of Crete and killed the first Minotaur.

"And finally; the Gauntlets of Hercules! Legend says that anyone who wears them will be granted the legendary strength of the hero!"

Lilith was gobsmacked. She knew her uncle collected the weapons of famous monster hunters, but this was epic! She picked up the spear and looked at her uncle, asking silent permission. He nodded, and she began to swing and twirl the weapon with great dexterity, bringing a smile to his face.

"You handle it well, my dear", he said. She beamed with pride and returned the spear. "You will be needed for a special mission soon; a chance to redeem yourself for the debacle of last Halloween. Be ready."

"Yes, Uncle."

xxXXxx

"So how's Kenny doing this morning, Duncan?", Clawdeen asked as they sipped their lattes by the fountain with their friends.

"Frankie would know better than me, Clawdeen", he replied slyly, as the ghoul in question blushed furiously.

"According to my parents, he's responding well to the treatment", Frankie said. "They think he should be back to normal in 2 or 3 days. He was in good spirits when I brought him breakfast this morning."

The guys and ghouls all smiled knowingly as the first bell rang and they all filed inside, going to their first classes of the day.

"Attention please!", The Headmistress' voice crackled over the PA system. "Will Clawdeen, Clawd, and Howleen Wolf please report to my office immediately."

"Ugh. Now what?", Clawdeen groaned, and Duncan put his arm around her shoulders.

"You want us to come with?", he asked; motioning to Draculaura, who also nodded as she took Clawd's hand in hers.

"Sure, why not", Clawdeen said with a small thankful smile.

They knocked when they reached Bloodgood's office and were told to enter.

"You called…us….Head….mistress…?", Clawdeen's voice trailed off, as she and her siblings were awestruck. Duncan and Draculaura were confused by their reaction, then saw that Bloodgood was not alone in her office.

There was a tall white and silver furred werewolf. His bearing was strong and noble, and carried great wisdom in his orange eyes. His robes were ornate and regal, and his face was full-wolf rather than humanoid. He had his claws clasped behind his back. Duncan could sense the power and wisdom of this wolf….clearly an Alpha.

"F-Fenris Silvermane?", Clawdeen said softly, in absolute awe.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: What?! I'm leaving it there?! Yup! Next chapter begins Clawdeen's Destiny arc!**

 **Well, Kenny is on his way to recovery with Frankie by his side! LOL!**

 **I do not own Revolta, the Witch of the Web. She is from "Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School", but my version is from this AU. Nor do I own Vlad Plasmius, but with Danny Phantom as part of my AU, it only made sense for him to appear at some point.**

 **I did promise to reveal more about Obsidious Blackstar back when he first appeared, so I thought it was about time I kept that promise. He and his forces are studying their target as they inexorably approach! They are still a great distance away, but we will see them again before they arrive on Earth!**

 **As always, reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	26. Chapter 25: The Alpha Quest Begins

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter begins Clawdeen's Destiny arc! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 25: The Alpha Quest Begins

"F-Fenris Silvermane?", Clawdeen said softly, in absolute awe.

"Greetings, young ones", Fenris said.

The Wolf siblings all dropped to their knees, spread their arms slightly to their sides with palms forward, and tipped their heads back, exposing their throats with their eyes closed. Duncan and Draculaura were at a loss as to what was going on. Fenris smiled warmly and walked up to the three werewolves and gently stroked their throats with the back of his hand.

"Please rise", he said warmly. "There is no need for such formalities."

"B-but, you're the **Alpha!** ", Clawd said excitedly. Fenris chuckled a bit at Clawd's enthusiasm.

"Not for much longer", he smiled. "As you three know."

"That's why Lord Silvermane is here", Bloodgood said. "And why he asked me to call you here."

"Wait, wait", Draculaura said. "Is this about that whole alphabet moon thingy?"

"That's right!", Duncan said, snapping his fingers. "You're not just an Alpha; you're the **Alpha** of Alphas that Clawdeen told me about! The leader of **all** the world's werewolves!"

"Indeed", Fenris said with a small smile. "Correct, on all counts. A pleasure to meet you all."

"But what was with the way you three kneeled to him?", Draculaura asked. "If you don't mind me asking?"

"All wolves show 'submission' to the Alpha as a sign of respect, that's the way it's always been", Clawd answered.

"So why did you want to see **us** , Alpha?", Clawdeen asked, stepping forward. Fenris smiled. She was assertive….as a leader should be. This bodes well for the test.

"As you know, the Alpha Moon has chosen my successor, and my time as Alpha is coming to an end", Fenris explained. "I am here for your help. I need **you** , Clawdeen Wolf, to lead a quest to find the new Alpha, and bring them to the Mountains of the Moon to accept their new role and powers."

"M-me?!", Clawdeen's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm just a teen fashionista with an attitude! Are you sure I'm the right wolf for the job?"

"Yes", Fenris smiled. "Only **you** can lead this vital mission. I can tell you where to start. **You** must choose the few to take with you. But choose wisely, as they must be able to help you."

"Weeelll, I know I can't do this without my bro and sis", she smiled to her siblings, then Draculaura. "And, of course, my BFF **_always_** has my back."

"Totes!", the perky vampire chirped, high-fiving her Beast Friend Forever, then hugging Clawd.

"I want to help", Duncan said. "If you'll have me?"

Fenris smiled again. Indeed, this boy was a worthy mate for her.

"Are you **sure** , Duncan?", Clawdeen asked. "I mean, your bro….?"

"Kenny has Mom and Frankie", he smiled. "He's still in the clinic for a few days and he's on the road to recovery. They can spare me for a while."

"Then I'm glad to have you with me, Hot-Stuff", she grinned then kissed him, which Duncan returned in kind.

Clawdeen thought hard for a moment on who else would be helpful, then snapped her fingers.

"I know who else to ask!", she said. "Ghoulia and Robecca! They're the smartest ghouls in school. And Abby is strong and cool under pressure."

Again, Fenris smiled knowingly. She was indeed choosing her companions as a smart leader would; for their loyalty, intelligence, and ability to help.

"Very well", Fenris said. "Gather your companions and prepare for your journey."

"I will speak to all the parents", Bloodgood assured them. "Go collect Abby, Ghoulia, and Robecca from class and fill them in before you all go home to pack. Meet back here after school to be on your way."

The teens all nodded and left Bloodgood's office. She stood and watched them leave as she walked up beside Fenris.

"You're **sure** it must be done this way?", she asked. "Would it not be safer to simply **tell** Clawdeen she's the next Alpha and invite her to the Mountains?"

"It would", he said. "But that is **not** the purpose of the Quest. She must find it within herself. That is part of the **final** test."

"Are you **certain** they will be **safe?** ", Grace asked with concern. "After all, I care deeply for all my students, and Robecca Steam is my own daughter."

"They will be tested", he replied. "But the Great Mother will watch over them, I am certain."

xxXXxx

It had not been too difficult to convince the parents involved. The Wolfs were honored that their children had been chosen for a mission from the Alpha. And the other parents have become accustomed to their children winding up on adventures, either by accident or design. Margaret needed the most convincing, but in the end she had faith in Duncan and the others.

Shortly after their cubs left to meet the others back at Monster High, there was a knock on the door of the Wolf home. Clawson opened the door and froze in shock.

"Who is it, Dear?", Harriet asked as she came up behind him, and likewise froze. Then they both fell to their knees as their children had done earlier.

"Please, rise, Mr. and Mrs. Wolf", Fenris said warmly, as he gently stroked their throats. "We have much to discuss, and very little time."

xxXXxx

The guys and ghouls were enjoying their flight in Thirst Class, all excited about their Quest for the Alpha of Werewolves.

"As you Scare-mericans would say, 'here we go again', no?", Abby smirked.

"Aiuuuhhh", Ghoulia agreed.

"We do seem to find ourselves on wild adventures quite a bit, don't we, luvs?", Robecca added.

"Often dragging us guys along, too", Clawd snickered.

"I know what you mean", Duncan said. "Although most of my adventures didn't take me very far from home before now."

"Where do we go once our plane lands in Lurkey, Clawdeen?", Draculaura asked.

"Alpha Silvermane made all our arrangements, as well as access to expense money for the duration", Clawdeen said, looking at their travel documents. "From Lurkey, we take the Gore-ient Express through Groan-mania and a stop-over in Transylvania."

"Totes hexcellent!", Draculaura giggled. "We can pay a visit to the Vampire Court and see Elizza-Bat!"

"Looks like that's the plan", Clawdeen said. "We'll get the next part of our instructions and travel-plans there."

"I'm wondering how Fenris knows that we'll find the new Alpha along this strange route?", Robecca pondered.

"The Moon Mother must've told him through the Great Moonstone", Howleen said.

"The **_what_**?", all the non-werewolves said at once.

"The Moon is the Mother of all Werewolves", Clawdeen explained. "In the Mountains of the Moon, the Great Moonstone sits at the heart of the Temple of the Moon. The Moon Mother speaks to the Alpha and his Council through the Stone if and when they need knowledge beyond their own."

"Wow", Draculaura said with a touch of awe. "It kinda reminds me of the Vampire's Heart."

Robecca reflexively touched her chest, as the Vampire's Heart was part of her inner workings.

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that", Clawdeen said. "But the Moonstone is so much **_more_** ….it's hard to explain."

"Now I remember", Duncan said. "My mom told me about some of the precious artifacts of monsterkind when I was little; the Moonstone, the Vampire's Heart, the Chronostone, the Heart of Fire….all as powerful as they are mysterious."

"Abby is thinkink maybe we should be gettink some sleep", the yeti said. "Is very long flight, no?"

"Can't argue with that", Clawdeen smirked, as she laid her head on Duncan's shoulder, as Draculaura did with Clawd. Soon, they were all dozing off.

xxXXxx

Pharaoh Ramses De Nile had been prepared to hear from an angry Belloc after the debacle at the Homecoming Dance. But even so, the magnitude of the kaiju king's rage had frightened even him.

(Flashback)

Ramses was in deep contemplation, mostly about Nefera's complete failure to seduce the kaiju prince, and **worse** ; she had exposed his most precious secret to the whole school! Belloc was sure to be…

The sound of tinkling crystals roused him. He walked to his crystal mirror with resignation. He waved his hand to activate it, to see the angry draconian face of Belloc.

" **RAMSES!** ", the Kaiju King roared, loud enough to make the mummy take a step back.

"Greetings, old friend", Ramses said amicably.

" **DON'T PATRONIZE ME, YOU MOLDERING CORPSE!** ", Belloc roared, his mouth smoking, the glow of his inner fire in his throat. " **YOUR JEALOUS SPOILED BRAT OF A DAUGHTER EXPOSED MY SON'S MOST GUARDED SECRET! YOU'RE LUCKY I HAVEN'T REDUCED YOUR PYRAMID TO BURNING RUBBLE WITH YOU AND HER** ** _INSIDE_** **IT!** "

"Please calm yourself, my friend!", Ramses urged in a humble tone. "She over-reacted to being rejected! I assure you, his peers and teachers have accepted him fully in the wake of Nefera's foolish act of jealousy, and I have chastised my daughter severely."

Belloc growled as he glared at Ramses. "Fortunately for **you** , you are correct, and the secret of Duncan's true nature has been contained within the monster community. It is only for **that** , and the upcoming crowning of the new Alpha of Werewolves, that I have not rained my wrath upon you! Do **not** disappoint me again, 'old friend',or your next appearance at the Council table will be your **last**!"

(end Flashback)

Ramses shivered at the memory, although he would deny his fear until the end of time. Nefera was still confined to her chambers with no access to her iCoffin or credit cards; a fate worse than any other could be to her mind. That is, until he informed her, in detail, of his conversation with Belloc!

Ramses was roused from his revery by an Anubis Guard informing him that he had guests requesting an audience. He nodded, and the guard returned whence he came. A few moments later, Clawson and Harriet Wolf entered, accompanied by none other than Fenris Silvermane!

"Ramses", Fenris grinned as he bowed his head briefly in respect, "Thank you for seeing us."

"Not at all, old friend", Ramses replied, standing to greet his fellow Royal and clasp his hand. "What can I do for the Alpha of Werewolves and his subjects?"

"It is a matter of some urgency", Fenris said.

"Of course", Ramses replied, motioning to some comfortable chairs, inviting them all to sit. He pulled a nearby gold rope, and a zombie butler appeared.

"Wine for me and my guests", Ramses told him. He moaned an affirmative and shuffled off.

"Nefera! Cleo! We have guests!", he called out, and it echoed through the pyramid. His daughters appeared moments later.

"Mr. and Mrs, Wolf!", Cleo said in surprise, seeing her friend's parents. "What brings you here?"

"Something….wonderful!", Harriet replied, tears of joy in her eyes. Clawson smiled and placed a supportive arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Please explain, dear friend, and how I can be of help?", Ramses said to Fenris.

"Forgive me, my friend, but first, you and your daughters must swear to keep what you are about to learn **absolutely** secret?", Fenris asked.

"Of course, my friend", Ramses assured him, and looked to his daughters, who nodded. "We swear by the Eternal Rays of Ra." Fenris nodded in thanks.

"As you know, the Alpha Moon has chosen my successor", the old werewolf explained. "And this very day, I have sent her on her quest."

"Wait, 'her'?", Cleo asked, then gasped. "Y-you mean….?"

"Yes. Clawdeen Wolf is the next Alpha of all Werewolves", Fenris affirmed.

" ** _WHAT_** **?!** ", Nefera screamed. No! Bad enough that Clawdeen had kept her from her desired Prince! But now **she** was becoming a _royal_?!

"Oh, deal with it, Nefera!", Cleo huffed. "Duncan already loves her, anyway."

"UGH!", Nefera scoffed as she stormed off, almost knocking over the zombie butler returning with the wine and glasses.

"Please forgive Nefera", Ramses asked his guests. "She had hoped to win the heart of the Rosenblatt boy, only to find out he had already given it to your daughter."

He turned to Fenris. "How can I be of help to my fellow royal?"

"We", he indicated the Wolfs with himself, "need to return to the Mountains of the Moon as quickly as possible to make preparations for the Ceremony of the First Full Moon, before Clawdeen and her companions get there. I remember you mentioning that you have your own jet that you are quite proud of?"

"Of course!", Ramses replied. "I need to be there as a member of the Monster Council of Royals anyway. I would be pleased to escort you all on my plane. But first, let us enjoy a glass of this fine wine, and toast your daughter; the next Alpha."

xxXXxx

The flight to Lurkey, while long was, thankfully, comfortable. Clawdeen and the others were now looking for transportation to the train station to catch the Gore-ient Express for the next leg of their journey on their appointed quest.

"Bah! Scare-mericans!", a voice jeered nearby.

They turned to see a group of teen griffins that appeared to led by a manticore who could've easily looked Manny Taur in the eye. Duncan growled softly, but calmed when Clawdeen wrapped her arm around his. Abby, however, was not so easily restrained this time; nor was Robecca, surprisingly enough.

"Abby is **not** Scare-merican", the yeti growled, glaring at them. "But **proud** to go to school there."

"Same here. And my father is **British** , thank you scary much!", Robecca said.

"Easy, ghouls", Clawdeen said. "Locals with attitude is par for the course, remember."

"Yeah", Clawd agreed. "But we don't have to like it."

"Just as I thought", the manticore sneered. "Cowards!"

" ** _Pink_** hair?", a female griffin laughed, running a single finger through Howleen's hair. "Pathetic, flashy vanity!"

"Back off, birdie!", the young werewolf growled, slapping the offending hand away.

Growling, the locals squared-off with the guys and ghouls; the manticore, seeing Duncan as the greatest threat, was trying to stare him down.

"That's enough!", Clawdeen yelled. "Much as I enjoy a good brawl, our quest is more important! And we can't afford to end up in a Lurkish jail!"

The others stood-down and tried to walk away….only for the gang to jump them!

Abby pushed the griffin grappling with her away just far enough to freeze him in a block of ice, and quickly did the same to the one standing over Ghoulia.

"Ahuhaieuh", the zombie moaned in thanks.

"Eh, do not mention it", Abby grinned.

Clawd was holding his own well enough….until the griffin got a good grip and flew him up into the air.

"So long, doggie!", the griffin sneered as he dropped the werewolf. Clawd reacted quickly and managed to grab the griffin's lion-tail as he fell. This surprised the lion-bird, enabling Clawd to throw him to the ground ahead of him, then land on him, breaking his fall.

Draculaura, in bat-form, was engaged in an aerial battle with a griffin girl. While smaller than her opponent, she was also faster and more agile. Meanwhile, Howleen had beat down her opponent, and saw what was happening in the air.

"Draculaura! Over here!", she called, grabbing her beaten opponent by the tail. The vampire swooped toward her with the griffin in pursuit.

"Now!", Howleen snarled, throwing her griffin into the air. Draculaura dived out of the way, and the two griffin ghouls collided and crashed to the ground, unconscious. They were joined by another male, tossed there by Robecca. One rocket powered metal punch was all it took.

"Ugh! What is your **problem**?!", Clawdeen asked the griffin ghoul who was grappling claw-to-claw with her. "We weren't doin' nothin' to you! We're just passin' through!"

"We hate the arrogance of gore-igners who come here!", she hissed. "Especially Scare-mericans! The **only** thing you're good for is stealing your money!"

"So **_that's_** why you didn't just let us walk away?!", Clawdeen asked incredulously. "Big mistake!"

Clawdeen's strength suddenly surged, as her eyes glowed with power, driving her opponent to her knees. The snarling werewolf then kicked her into the pile of her unconscious friends that had been steadily growing nearby.

The manticore was strong, skilled, and determined, Duncan would give him that, matching him punch-for-punch, and slash-for-slash of claws. The manticore eventually realized that after the 'dragon' he was fighting took on a more fierce appearance, that his claws couldn't get through his armor. But he had another option! He lashed out with his over-sized scorpion tail, hoping to drive his stinger into his opponent.

Too bad for him, Duncan was ready and waiting for that. Using his new martial arts skill, Duncan dodged and caught the manticore's tail, then extended his wings and took flight; dragging the manticore into the air. He began to spin in mid-air, gaining speed, and dizzying the manticore. Duncan threw him into the rest of his delinquent griffin friends. Duncan landed softly next to Clawdeen and embraced her. Then the manticore stood back up unsteadily, growling. Rolling his eyes, Duncan blasted him with a low-power fire-ball, knocking him out and back onto the pile of his friends.

"Are you ok?", they asked each other at the same time, making them giggle then share a kiss.

The local police had arrived in time to see Duncan's blast, and began to question everyone. They were about to arrest the guys and ghouls along with the manticore and griffins, until a cab driver and nearby news vendor vouched that they were only defending themselves. The driver offered to drive them a ride to the train station, which they gladly accepted.

After they left, the vendor began dialing his iCoffin.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: So the Quest begins! I originally had not intended to do this, but then I realized how** ** _cool_** **it would be if Clawdeen was sent on a quest to 'find the new Alpha', not knowing that she was actually finding herself!**

 **I do have certain events planned for the quest, but I am open to suggestions for more! Here are the rules: it MUST be something that shows either some proof of her ability to lead wisely and/or courageously OR something that tests her inner strength, resolve, or enlightenment. It can be mystical, whimsical, or hardcore. Taking inspiration from movies, tv, or video games is ok, but** ** _CITE_** **your source!**

 **As always, please leave long reviews! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	27. Chapter 26

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter the Quest continues, plus news from the home-front and elsewhere! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 26

"So Duncan is on a 'quest' with Clawd and several others, being led by Clawdeen on the other side of the world?", Kenny asked, just trying to process what he was hearing. "And it was the Alpha of all werewolves who asked her to do this, in order to find the **new** Alpha of all werewolves?"

"Uhm….yup, that's about the size of it", Frankie smiled. Kenny shook his head and made a 'confused' sound. "I know, right? But it must be super important, Kenny."

"Well, good luck to them all", Kenny smiled.

"I'm sure Duncan will keep in touch, Kenny", Margaret assured them. Then she turned to Frankie's parents. "So how's Kenny doing?"

"He's responding very well!", Viveka smiled.

"Indeed", Viktor agreed, checking Kenny's chart. "Another day, two at the most and you will be good as new, young man!"

"*whew* That's a relief!", he said, then looked at Frankie, getting lost in her beautiful, mismatched eyes. "Maybe I'll be good-to-go for our movie-date, Frankie."

"I hope so, Kenny", she smiled, blushing. Viktor cleared his throat a bit uncomfortably.

"Yes, well…", he started, looking with a serious face at the young couple. "I understand and can't fault either of you for….being **intimate** , given the circumstances. But it is our hope that the two of you will exercise more….caution in the future."

"Dad!"

"I agree with your parents, Frankie", Margaret said, drawing a surprised look from Kenny.

"As your parents, we would **prefer** you wait until you are older….", Viveka stated.

"But if you choose to engage in….sex, **please** use protection?", Margaret said. "And before you ask, Kenny, I **did** have this same talk with Duncan."

"But I thought I couldn't get….", Frankie started, both she and Kenny blushing.

"I have gone over my notes on your creation, Frankie", Viktor explained, "as well as your most recent physical. I have determined that the possibility of pregnancy for you at any given time is only 30% less than it is for other ghouls."

"So…I **could** have children one day?", Frankie asked, taking Kenny's hand in hers and sharing a smile with him.

xxXXxx

Torq stared into the campfire. As he thought on how he and his Horde had come to this, his hate festered and grew. If his hands were not still bandaged and healing, he would punch something until it broke! That damnable dragon-punk had humiliated him **again!** And this time it got him and his Horde exiled! Of them all, only the two youngest goblins had been given a reprieve; their mothers claiming that they were young enough that they could turn things around with Torq's influence gone. A few of the members' ghoulfriends-including his own-opted to join them, as they shared his views. There was fifteen total now.

He'd show his mother! And those Elder fools! He would recruit more in exile, come back stronger than ever! He'd **force** them to take him and his Horde back! And he would finally **crush** that damn dragon! He angrily threw his empty noodle cup into the fire.

For now, they were nomads with a van and motorcycles, camping out in a new place every night.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen", a voice snickered from the dark beyond the firelight.

"Who's there?", Torg snarled. "Show yourself!"

Vlad Plasmius floated into the light with a snide smirk on his face.

"Who're you, ghost?", the hobgoblin demanded.

"Vlad Plasmius, at your service", he bowed with exaggerated flourish. "You are a hard monster to find, Torq. My partners and I have a proposition for you and your Horde."

xxXXxx

Clawdeen and the others had just finished lunch in the dining car and were just talking and hanging out in the lounge car. Several other passengers were doing the same. At the far end of the car, sitting alone was a blue-skinned, elf-eared ghoul not much older than them wearing gypsy attire. Duncan caught her looking in their direction several times. He thought little of it; she looked harmless enough. But something about her was nagging….prodding him. He got up and walked over to her.

"May I help you?", she asked politely.

"I was going to ask you the same thing", he said in an even tone. "I've noticed you looking over at us several times. Would you like to join us?"

"I don't want to intrude", she smiled apologetically.

"Too late for that", he laughed. "Come on over. I promise we don't bite."

"Very well", she smiled, standing and shaking his hand. "If you insist. My name is Tara….Tara Kardz."

"Duncan Rosenblatt."

As they rejoined the others, Draculaura looked up.

"Who's your new friend, Duncan?", the perky vampire asked, causing the others to look up.

"Everyone, this is Tara Kardz ."

"Hello", Tara said. The others all introduced themselves.

"I hope I'm not intruding", Tara said after sitting down with them. "But your auras are fascinating."

"So that's why you kept looking over at us?", Duncan asked.

"Yes", she said with a small smile. "I am a seer returning to my clan in Groan-mania after a year abroad. I can see that you are all on a journey with great purpose."

"Totes!", Draculaura said. "My best friend Clawdeen is on a special mission from the alphabet of werewolves!"

"What?", Tara asked with a small giggle.

"She means the Alpha; Fenris Silvermane", Clawdeen clarified. "He sent me to find the new Alpha, and my friends are helping me."

"Would you like me to read the cards for you?", Tara offered with a smile.

Clawdeen looked at everyone, to a mixture of nods and shrugs. "Sure, why not?"

Tara smiled warmly as she took a deck of ornate cards out of a pocket in her cloak, and began to shuffle them.

"My cards are unique, like no others in the world. They actually **become** what they need to be for each individual for me to read and show", she told them. She stopped shuffling and placed the deck on the table. "All of you, please place your hands over the deck for a moment, so the cards can get a feel of you."

They complied, and the deck began to glow. When they withdrew their hands, the deck levitated and shuffled itself in mid-air while Tara's aqua eyes began to glow white. They watched in amazement as cards separated from the floating deck to place themselves in front of various individuals.

In front of Ghoulia; "The Princess of Books, your knowledge and intelligence will help everyone all along the way, and will save the quest when hope drops from sight."

For Abby; "The Princess of Ice, you see things clearly even in the thickest blizzard, and that vision will serve you all well."

Clawd and Draculaura got one card; "The Lovers, your loving relationship will be very important to the quest and the future."

For Robecca; "The Queen of Gears, your mechanical genius will keep the quest on track."

For Howleen; "Maiden of the Eclipse; you will be a light when things seem dark."

For Duncan; "The Champion; you will know when to step forward and your fire will light the darkest hour."

For Clawdeen; "The True Seeker; you will search, you will learn, you will grow, and you will find what you seek in the last place you expect."

Tara's eyes returned to normal and she gathered the cards. "Remember the cards. Remember my words. May the Fates watch over you. Farewell."

She smiled warmly, stood and left, as Clawdeen and the others looked at each other; more confused now than they were before.

xxXXxx

Twyla got home from school accompanied by Raythe, the couple holding hands. She had never had a boyfriend before and felt that she had gotten extremely lucky; Raythe was caring, funny, considerate, fun to be around, and smart. They were going to study together; he was having trouble in Dead Languages.

"Whoa", Raythe said, looking wide-eyed around the Boogie Mansion with its chaotic assortment of doors, stairs, and twisted hallways.

"Stay close", she smirked. "A lot of my friends find it easy to get lost in here."

They got a snack and drink in the kitchen, then she began to guide him to her dad's library.

"You sure your dad is ok with me being here alone with you while he's out of town?", he asked nervously.

"He knows we're dating, and he's out of town a lot for his job", she explained. "He trusts me, and I have friends over often enough. He knows I can take care of myself. Besides", she grinned, "he'll just give you terrible nightmares if you 'try anything funny'."

Raythe gulped and grinned nervously, eliciting a giggle and peck on the lips from Twyla. They passed a hallway with a tall door at the far end….a door that was ajar. Twyla drew up short, a look of concern of her face.

"What's wrong?", Raythe asked.

"That door", she breathed as she headed toward it. "It should be closed. It **_was_** closed this morning."

"What's in there?", he asked curiously.

"My dad's supply", she began as she fully opened the door and entered with him in tow, "of Boogie Sand."

There were shelves from the floor to the high ceiling, and a rolling ladder for access. Every shelf was loaded with jars of labeled, different colored sand, and also empty spaces; as if jars were missing. Twyla's eyes widened.

"I gotta call my dad!", her voice trembling as she dialed her iCoffin.

"What does that stuff do?", Raythe asked.

"Different Boogie Sands can turn someone into different monsters, or even normies!", she explained. "In fact, it looks like **_all_** of the 'normie sand' is gone along with various other jars!"

"So?", he asked, confused.

"In the wrong hands, there's no telling how much trouble could be caused with Boogie Sand!"

xxXXxx

(10pm on the Gore-ient Express)

In one of the compartment cars, the Alpha Quest group split up to share four compartments to sleep. Ghoulia and Robecca took one, Howleen and Abby another. The couples debated briefly, then decided that this was a once in an un-lifetime trip, and the romance of train travel got to them, so each couple would share a compartment. The whole group bade each other 'good night', and retired to their compartments.

"This is sssoooo romantic", Draculaura cooed as she changed into a pink-trimmed black nightie while he stripped to his shorts.

"Yeah", he agreed as he pulled the curtains over the window. "It's just like those old boovies with lovers on a train."

"Mmmm-hmmm", she replied as she hugged him, burying her head in his chest. She started tracing a finger in a circle on his chest and looked up at him with sultry eyes. "You know, this will be the first time we've spent the **whole night** together."

He smiled knowingly, and bent down to kiss her passionately. As they wrestled orally, she snaked one arm around his waist and the other hand went up through his hair until it reached the sensitive spot behind his ears, making him groan with pleasure.

They broke the kiss so he could pull the bed down over the compartment seats. As soon as he was done, his petite vampire ghoulfriend tackled him onto the waiting bed…..

xxXXxx

Clawdeen had just changed into her black-trimmed purple nightie while drooling over Duncan in his black board-shorts, when her ears twitched and she giggled knowingly, stepping over to look out the window into the darkness.

"What's so funny?", Duncan asked as he pulled down the bed.

"Draculaura and my brother", she smirked. "let's just say they're not ready to sleep yet."

"As if you weren't thinking the same thing", he snickered, snaking his arms around her waist from behind and kissing her neck. She reached up a hand and pulled his lips to hers. Still kissing, he slid his hands up her belly to cup and knead her large breasts, making her moan. Breaking the kiss a few moments later, she turned and pushed him down onto the bed. She closed the curtains, then turned back to him with a smoldering, hungry gleam in her eyes that made him smile. She crawled onto the bed and slinked toward him slowly, as if she were stalking prey…..

xxXXxx

Just after midnight in the cargo car, a soft beeping sound came from a moderately large crate, followed by two clicks. The side of the popped open on bottom mogwai stepped out tentatively. They were all about 12 inches tall and outwardly appeared cute and cuddly; with a mixture of brown, white and black fur. Eight of them were almost identical to each other. The other five, however; one had a very grouchy looking face as he shoved the dumb-looking one with buck-teeth into the one whose eyes were spinning insanely while he giggled like a maniac, another was obviously female, and the last one had a black Mohawk and seemed to be in charge. He sniffed the air, searching for something…..there! That way! Food!

"Rah!", Mohawk squeaked, getting the others attention. "Yum-yum!"

They snuck into the kitchen of the dining car and gorged themselves on whatever they could find, leaving a huge mess when they went back to the cargo car….

Where they cocooned….

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Congrats to anyone who recognized the Mogwai from the 'Gremlins' movies!(I do not own 'Gremlins'!)**

 **Tara Kardz is my OC. I was originally only going to just use her here in that scene, but I may have her appear again later or in the sequels. Tell me what you think!**

 **xxXXxx**


	28. Chapter 27

**_Hey, Everyone! Get ready for a really fun ride this chapter!_**

 ** _My newest OC; DJ Troniquez, is a tribute to my friend and fellow writer: DJ Rodriguez! Theresa, his mom, is purely my OC. For those of you who haven't yet, check out his Godzilla/Disney tribute crossover trilogy 'Monsters and Magic', 'Monsters and Magic: Divide and Unite', and 'Monsters and Magic: Burning Finale', plus his current follow-up story 'Monsters and Magic Special: Sofia's Imagination'!_**

Chapter 27

(two months ago)

He woke slowly in a dark room. His vision kept flipping from normal to some kind of Heads-Up-Display on varying wavelengths….why is that? Was he dreaming? And why couldn't he move?

"Where am I? Mom? Are you there?"

"Take it easy, DJ", his mom's voice said, sounding like it was coming through an intercom. "I'll be right there."

A few minutes later, he heard a door open and close.

"Oh, DJ!", his mother; Dr. Theresa Troniquez, cried as she hugged him. "Oh, my son! My Boy! I love you so much!"

"Mom, calm down", he said. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You're in my lab at MEGTAF, DJ", she explained. "You've had a terrible accident. Dr. Pytel and I saved your life."

"Accident?", he asked, trying to remember. The last thing he remembered was working on that Tesla-coil for his rock-band friends. He was almost finished, then there was a bright white flash, and then…..nothing. He woke up here.

"The Tesla-coil?", he asked, sipping the water she held for him.

"Yes, dear", she said, sniffing as she held back tears. "It overloaded and surged while you were working on it. Your central nervous system was…", her voice broke.

"Fried", Dr, Pytel finished for her as she entered the dark room. "Your mom kept you alive with a homemade external pace-maker until we could get you here. You gotta admire a genius who can think on her feet!"

"So….I'm paralyzed? But I can still feel you touch me?"

"Your sense of touch was the only nerve function that was unaffected", his mom said.

"But I can talk, and move my fingers?", he said, then tried again to sit up. "Why am I strapped down? And why is the room so dark?"

"DJ, honey", she began, "don't be alarmed. Even your autonomic nerve functions were compromised. To save your life, Dr. Pytel and I had to rebuild your central nervous system using my work…."

He gasped. His mom's work at MEGTAF centered on cybernetics….

"Show me", he said haltingly, then more forcefully, "I want to see!"

"DJ, you should take things slo…."

"DAMMIT, MOM, I WANT TO SEE!"

Sighing in resignation, she turned on the lights, briefly blinding him. As his eyes adjusted, the table he was on was tilted until he was almost upright. When he could see, he not only saw his mother and Dr. Pytell, but the HUD was back, noting them and all items he looked at in view, streaming data to his cortex.

"Whoa", he said. " **That's...** trippy."

"The Heads-Up-Display, right?", Dr. Pytell said. "It's the most advanced version in the world!"

DJ found her perky optimism annoying, but was still impressed.

"Mirror?", he asked softly.

Sighing again, his mom pulled a tall mirror over, then stepped away.

He saw that he was wearing a standard exam gown, and strapped to the table across his chest and knees. After that, it was total sci-fi! He had what appeared to be a 'bare-bones' exo-skeleton on him from his neck to his toes with a chest-plate over his ribs, a metal head-band connected to a metal jaw-piece over his real jaw. When he looked at his eyes, his vision zoomed-in much closer and clearer than humanly possible, enabling him to see that his iris's now resembled those of a camera. His HUD showed that his metal parts were composed of titanium and gold nano-wires that connected them to his muscles through his skin.

With a surge of strength, he snapped the straps and stepped onto the floor, closer to the mirror, tearing off the gown. Lucky for him, he was wearing shorts underneath. He turned and looked over his shoulder to see his back. He had a titanium exo-spinal-column nano-wired to his vertebrae and back muscles, to which the rest of the exo-skeleton was connected.

"I'm so sorry, DJ", his mother said tearfully. "But I just **_couldn't_** let you die."

"I-it's ok, Mom", he said. "It's not **so** bad. How long will I have to use this?"

Theresa started sobbing as Dr. Pytell placed a hand on DJ's shoulder. "I'm afraid it's permanent, DJ. Your mom's cybernetics are the **only** thing keeping you **alive** and fully mobile….for the rest of your life."

xxXXxx

(Present)

Margaret had just gotten an email from Duncan, telling her that after a brawl with some griffins and a manticore, things were going well so far. She was relieved as were the other parents she could reach. What was strange was that she couldn't reach the Wolf's. Before she could think more on it, her computer beeped; notifying her of an incoming video call from MEGTAF. That was odd, Barnes wasn't due to call again for a few more days. She answered….to see the face of an old friend.

"Hi, Margaret."

"Theresa!", Margaret greeted her warmly. "How are you doing? Moreau and Mechanicles drive you crazy yet?"

"Not yet", she grinned. "But that's not why I'm calling. You remember what happened to DJ this Summer?"

"Yes", she replied sympathetically. "How's he doing?"

"Not so good", Theresa said. "He's adjusted to living with his cybernetics fairly well. It's his peers that are the problem. They're treating him so differently; avoiding him, picking on him, bullying him, treating him like a freak. Even those that had been his friends before are guilty of it. It reminds me of the problems you told me Duncan used to have."

Margaret nodded, remembering those years. DJ and Duncan had been good friends since they were two years old. They didn't often see each other, but whenever they did, they picked up where they left off. Margaret was always grateful that Duncan had one friend he could always count on. DJ had also gotten along well with Kenny, as well as Isabel and Jenna before the kaiju attack.

"How can I help, Theresa?", she asked.

"Col. Barnes told me about the school Duncan is attending now", she replied. "Do you think they would take DJ? I've talked to him about it, and he's open to trying if they'll take him."

"I don't see why they wouldn't", Margaret said thoughtfully. "I'm friends with the Headmistress. Let me talk to her and see what she says."

"Fair enough", Theresa smiled. "Thank you, Margaret."

xxXXxx

Clawdeen and the others had just finished dinner their second evening on the Gore-ient Express. The two couples kept getting teased occasionally by the others; Clawd and Draculaura had apparently **not** been as quiet the night before as they'd hoped, and Clawdeen and Duncan hadn't even **tried** to be quiet! Howleen jokingly suggested that maybe they all would get more sleep if the couples only used the beds for **sleeping** , earning her a smirking glare from both her siblings, and giggles from the other ghouls.

Ghoulia was looking over their route and did some calculations. She determined that even with a stop at the border of Groan-mania and Transylvania where several passengers, including Tara, were leaving the train; they should arrive to the Vampire Court the following evening. Draculaura was practically bouncing with excitement.

"I can't wait to see Elizzabat!", the perky vampire squealed. "We used to have so much fun there in the castle! And now she's Queen!"

"We'll get to spend a day or so there before we move on", Robecca said. "If we get there on time, that is."

"No sweat", Clawd grinned. "Other than that little dust-up we had outside the airport, it's been smooth sailing."

"Dude", Duncan face-palmed, "you **do** realize that you just jinxed us?"

"Aw c'mon, Duncan", he smirked. "we're riding the most reliable train in the world! What could **_possibly_** go wrong?"

Suddenly, they and all the other passengers were all thrown to the floor of the lounge car as the train brakes screeched like a thousand banshees! Amid the ensuing chaos, the whole group glared at Clawd.

"Thanks a lot, bro!", Clawdeen said.

"Ok! Point taken! I'm sorry!", Clawd said sheepishly. "At least things can't get worse!"

" **Dude!** ", Duncan face-palmed again. "You just did it **again!** "

Just then they heard screams and shouts from other train cars, along with chittering laughter. The lights flickered and went out in the lounge car. The door to the next car opened and the werecat conductor staggered in, struggling with two creatures that resembled gleefully vicious, two and a half foot tall, green and brown, scaly monkeys with large bat-like ears! "Help me!", he cried.

Abby froze the brown one in a block of ice, while Robecca swatted the green one away. It crashed onto the lounge bar, shattering a full pitcher of water. It giggled maliciously as the wet flesh on it's back bubbled up and discharged five small balls of flesh, which began to grow quickly! Then the block of ice shattered as three more balls came off that creature and did the same thing. Now they had **ten** of these creatures to deal with!

Growling, the werewolves bared their claws and fangs, while Duncan shifted to full kaiju w/o his wings. Abby cracked her knuckles, Robecca readied her fists, and Draculaura and Ghoulia each grabbed empty drink trays.

Duncan slashed one with his claws and back-fisted one over his shoulder, snarling in frustration at being unable to use his fire inside the train. Abby punched one from one end of the car to the other. Clawdeen and her siblings were each struggling with a giggling, hissing mini-beast. Clawdeen had just ripped the throat out of hers….

KLANG!

She looked behind her to see a drink tray pull away from the gremlin it just hit, who looked comically cartoon-like as it stayed suspended with a dazed look on it's face for a moment before falling to the floor.

"Thanks, Bestie!", she said.

"No prob!", Draculaura said.

Robecca back-handed one and choked another. She saw Ghoulia struggling to hold one off with her tray. The copper beauty snapped the neck of the one in her hand and threw it at the one attacking Ghoulia. The zombie moaned in gratitude and grabbed her digital camera, accidentally triggering the flash.

"Aaaahhhh!", all the gremlins hissed in raspy voices, covering their eyes. "Bright light!"

This was all the opening the guys and ghouls needed to finish off the rest.

"Everyone ok?", Duncan asked as he withdrew his claws from two green bloody messes that used to be gremlins.

"All good", Clawd said.

"Mad, but ok", Clawdeen added, as Howleen nodded.

"Ah-Huh!", Ghoulia affirmed.

"Totes", Draculaura said.

"Yiiick!", Abby scoffed. "Little things are **messy**! What are they?"

"Ghoulia!", Robecca turned to the smart ghoul. "Look them up here on your computer!"

"Ah!"

"Small, vicious, strong, hates light, and multiplies with water…", Duncan counted off, as Ghoulia typed.

Her eyes widened in horror at the result of her search, and Howleen read:

"Mogwai; start out small and cuddly, but mutate into the gremlins we just fought if they're fed after midnight. They're just as smart as they are vicious and mischievous. They like to dismantle and re-rig machines to explode or go haywire almost as much as they like to play vicious and deadly pranks. They can't stand bright light, and sunlight can destroy them."

"Have heard of these from elders of village", Abby said with a scowl. "Come from highest mountains of Asia and homeland. There are rare ones that can be tamed and kept as pets, as long as follow rules and not feed after midnight."

"I got a nasty feelin' it's no accident that these things are on this train!", Clawdeen growled.

Just then, they heard more shouting and screaming from the next car toward the engine. Robecca's eyes widened with realization.

"They like to mess with machines!", she exclaimed. "Who knows how many of these things there are on the train! If they get to the engine…..!"

"We gotta stop 'em!", Clawdeen growled, heading for the door with Duncan right behind her, followed by the others.

In the next car were several passengers sporting claw-marks, bumps, burns, and bruises. There were two dead gremlins on the floor.

"Are there any more?", Duncan asked a nearby vampire nursing a few claw slashes on his arm.

"They ran toward the far end", he grunted. "I don't know how many."

The group continued forward cautiously, checking empty seats as they approached each row. Nothing. Duncan reached in front of him and put a hand on Clawdeen's shoulder, prompting her to stop.

"Let me and Clawd take point here", he suggested.

"No way, Handsome!", she retorted. "The Alpha told **me** to take the lead…"

"For the **_quest_** , yes", he replied softly. "That means you're too important to risk for these little freaks. We all agreed to follow your lead, but a smart leader uses her resources to best effect. Clawd and I are more likely to survive a hidden ambush and keep fighting at full strength."

"Ok", she growled grudgingly. "I guess you're right, but I'm right behind you, got it?"

"Of course", he smiled, giving her a quick kiss as he and Clawd stepped ahead of her.

They started moving cautiously forward again; Clawd and Duncan at point, followed by Clawdeen and her sister, then Draculaura and Ghoulia, Robecca and Abby brought up the rear just case any gremlins tried to sneak up behind them.

As Clawd came up even with some cabinets on either side of the door to the next car, the bottom left one flew open, cracking him in the shin. When he bent forward in pain the top right one cracked him in the head, with chittering laughter from inside. The next set opened and gremlins started throwing things at them, laughing maniacally.

Snarling, Duncan tore the cabinet doors off and lunged at the gremlins inside as did Clawd from the floor. Clawd had one on the floor when another lunged at him….only for the werewolf to painfully bite it's arm almost off. Duncan crushed the two he grabbed and smashed their heads together for good measure. Two more managed to jump over the guys, only to meet the angry slashing claws of Clawdeen and Howleen.

Next was the dining car, where two gargoyle train-crewmen were struggling with several gremlins just like those they'd seen so far, plus two that were very different. Both were the same height as the others, but were beefier. One seemed to have a permanent scowl as he growled orders at the others; including his 'partner', who was apparently as dim-witted as he was buck-toothed. Under orders from Grouchy, two of the gremlins lunged at Duncan. Grouchy had to smack Doofus upside the head to get him to stop punching a crewman and attack Clawd. Duncan had his hands full with his two, when the gargoyles went down, freeing the others to attack the group. Ghoulia clobbered one with her tray while Robecca gave another a rocket-powered kick to the face. Clawdeen slashed two more with her claws, while two tried to attack Draculaura, only for her to turn into a bat, causing them to collide in empty air. Howleen finished them with her claws.

After killing the two he had, Duncan charged at Grouchy, who slashed at him with his claws….which broke against his armor. Grouchy snarled in pain, jumping up and down gripping his injured hand. He ran past Clawd and Doofus to the next car.

"Clawd! Get past that dummy and keep going forward!", Clawdeen yelled. He nodded as Duncan grabbed Doofus by the leg and dragged him away from Clawd, who sprinted to the forward door.

The next car was split-level; luggage above, cargo below. The werewolf opted to go through the luggage level. His senses were on high-alert. He could smell that they had been in here, so he remained cautious.

"Ooooooh! What a hunk!", a feminine raspy voice purred from ahead of him. A female gremlin stepped into view in the middle of the car. Her wavy, green hair styled like a 40's glam siren, exaggerated eye-makeup, and extra-full red lips. She was wearing a small pair of high-heels and leopard-print halter-top and mini-skirt that she must've made herself from clothes in the luggage. Her curves were generous in proportion to her size. She looked like a twisted version of a trailer-park tramp. She strutted toward him like a stripper. She didn't _seem_ dangerous like the others, so she caught him by surprise when she leaped up onto him, trying to kiss him with her ginormous lips! Clawd struggled to keep her back, but the little tart had one hell of a grip! In the struggle, he tripped backward onto the floor.

"Don't fight it, Wolfy", she cooed. "I'll make you **howl!** "

Out of nowhere, a pink and black high-heel kicked the she-gremlin off of him. She tumbled almost all the way to the end of the car, then glared back at her attacker.

"Stay away from my **boyfriend** , you little **_bitch_**!", Draculaura hissed. The gremlin giggled maniacally like her brothers and disappeared through the door.

"Are you ok, Sweetie?", the vampire asked her boyfriend, helping him up.

"Yeah, thanks, Babe", he answered with a smile as the others came in.

"Doofus got away from me", Duncan growled. "He must've gone through the cargo level."

"I am thinkink the last gremlins are in engine", Abby said.

"And it sounds like they're havin' a party in there", Howleen growled.

The gleeful malicious laughter of the gremlins was mixed with the sounds of metal straining and banging, making Robecca wince at the thought of what they must be doing. Duncan quietly looked through the window into the engine. The hunchback and zombie engineers were tied up and being tormented by Grouchy, Doofus, and Tramp and two others. One was bouncing and spinning all over the place like a Wonderlandian cuckoo bird on ten cups of espresso with extra sugar! Totally Whacko! His eyes were spinning like plates on a stick as he laughed even more maniacally than the others. The last one….he had to be the one in charge! At three feet tall, he was bigger and brawnier than the others, his head crowned with a black Mohawk. And the way he was slashing the engineers with his claws and laughing was testament to how vicious he was. There were parts and controls strewn chaotically around the room. Duncan eased back.

"Yup, they're in there and they made a mess of the controls", he told the group. "From the looks of it, we're lucky the train was stopped, or we'd be running totally out of control! And they've got the engineers in there, too."

"Then what are we waiting for?", Clawd growled.

"Whoa, Clawd!", Duncan said. "There isn't a lot of room to move in there, the engineers are tied up, and the leader looks bigger and stronger than the rest. We have to be careful!"

"He's right, Bro", Clawdeen said. "How do you suggest we do this, Duncan?"

Duncan thought for a moment. "Clawd? You and I will rush them. Clawdeen? You and Robecca back us up and protect the engineers. The rest of you, make sure they don't get past you to threaten the passengers again."

"In fact, Abby?", Clawdeen added, turning to the yeti. "Go block the other door with ice, just in case."

"Am likink that idea", she said as she headed back the way they came.

"Good idea, Hon", Duncan grinned, kissing Clawdeen's cheek, making her blush. Then he gripped the door handle with Clawd ready. "On three?" The werewolf nodded.

"One…two…THREE!"

Duncan slammed the door open and they rushed through. Duncan smashed his fist into Grouchy's face, sending him reeling. Clawd slashed his claws at Mohawk, driving him back. Clawdeen back-handed Tramp away from the engineers while Robecca pulled them through the door then blocked it with her metal body. Grouchy got up snarling at Doofus, who turned to face Clawd alongside him.

"Hyuk-hyuk-hyuk!", Doofus laughed as he slashed at Clawd at the same time Grouchy swung his de-clawed fist at him. Clawd blocked Doofus, but took the punch from Grouchy. He was surprised any of these things could hit that hard! He kicked Doofus away, who was still laughing like an idiot. Grouchy tried another punch, only for Clawd to catch it this time and break his arm! His scream was cut short by the werewolf breaking his neck while slamming him through the window of the engine. He pulled the lifeless body back through the broken glass and dropped it.

Doofus picked up a large wrench to swing at Clawd, who punched him in the gut. This made him drop the wrench…right on his own head. Doofus saw stars in like a cartoon before falling over unconscious.

Whacko took one look at mechanical Robecca, and went gleefully insane!

"Break! Break! Break! Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hahahahahaha!", he squealed as he bounced and spun all around her, trying to take her apart!

"Stay away from me, you beast!", Robecca yelled, swinging her fists at him; missing him every time as his insane movements equated to artful dodging. "And hold…. **still!** ", she grunted when she finally hit him…hard. He slammed into the opposite wall and slide down to the floor in cartoon fashion. He got up almost immediately and made a mad(literally!) dash for the robot again….only to meet Clawdeen's slashing claws. He died laughing insanely.

Doofus got up, shaking his head vigorously to clear it, and charged at Clawd again. The werewolf was ready for him. He caught the idiotic gremlin by the throat and snapped his neck.

Tramp looked around, seeing the odds turning against them, and managed to dash through the door past Robecca and Clawdeen…only for Draculaura to catch her by the hair! The vampire grabbed her wrists with her other hand.

"You're **mine** , you little **_slut!_** ", Draculaura hissed as she slammed her screaming to the floor. The vampire then drove her stiletto heel through the gremlin's chest; from her cleavage to her spine, pinning her to the floor as she died.

Duncan had been struggling with Mohawk this whole time. His speed and agility rivaled Duncan's, and being smaller plus stronger than he looked, the cramped space was to his advantage. Even with his recent martial arts training, Duncan was hard-pressed fighting this thing without hurting anyone else or causing more damage to the train! Mohawk managed to drop-kick him away and into the others, but in doing so he was pushed backward himself, too. Duncan and Mohawk both rolled back up to face each other at the same time. Mohawk hesitated to see what Duncan would do, and **that** was his downfall!

Duncan took a breath to calm down. Then he focused, tapping his power and fine control. He had to do this just right and do it fast. He took a breath and opened his mouth. Mohawk's eyes widened in horror as the fireball hit him, causing him to explode in charred fragments, leaving the remains of the control panel untouched.

"It's over", he breathed.

"Howleen", Clawdeen turned to her sis. "Take Abby and any other passengers or crew willing to help and check the train, make sure there aren't any **more** of those things!"

"You got it!"

"Robecca? You and Ghoulia untie the engineers and get started on repairs, ok?"

"Right, luv!"

"I'll see if anyone else is hurt and try to help them", Draculaura piped up.

"Good idea. Duncan? You, me, and Clawd will look around outside the train, to see if there's any damage to the train out there or if any gremlins escaped."

"Ok", Duncan smiled. "Just let me catch my breath, ok, sweetie?"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes:** **What a mess! But what do you expect from gremlins?! I do not own 'Gremlins', but it was sure fun to use them in my story! But why were they on the train? Find out soon!**

 **Some of you may be wondering why Duncan hasn't been taking the lead, it's simple:** ** _Clawdeen_** **was chosen to lead this quest by Fenris Silvermane. Duncan understands this, and has been letting her take the lead; offering her suggestions and basically acting as her second-in-command. Privately, they remain equals. And besides, this is** ** _her_** **destiny arc!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome!**

 **xxXXxx**


	29. Chapter 28

**xxXXxx**

 ** _Hey, Everyone! Some fresh set-ups this chapter. As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High, nor do I own 'Dani Phantom' or 'Clockwork' from Danny Phantom. The design of Lilith's new form is from my friend, Creaturemaster, and used with his permission, with minor changes. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 28

"So what's the damage in here, ghouls?", Clawdeen asked.

"Almost every gauge, valve, control lever, throttle, brake, and electrical panel has been taken apart and the parts spread all over the place", Robecca said distastefully.

"Ugh", the werewolf grunted. "It's the same on the outside of the engine. How long you think it'll take for you, Ghoulia, and the train crew to get us going again?"

Ghoulia showed the checklist to Robecca, and both considered time for repairs.

"At least a day, maybe two", Robecca reported.

"Time is **not** on our side", Clawdeen grumbled. "But we should still be ok. Would it shave any time off if the rest of us help you?"

"That **might** make it only a day at most."

"Then get started",Clawdeen said. "We'll join you soon as we finish checking…."

"Done", Duncan said as he approached with Clawd. "No foot-prints or scent-trails leading away from the train, and the train itself is clear. We **did** find the gremlin cocoons in the cargo car, along with the crate that I think they were in originally, but it looks like we killed all of them."

"Ok", Robecca grinned, hefting her toolbox. "Then with everyone's help, I'll get this train back on track in no time!"

xxXXxx

Van Hellscream was in a good mood. His private science lab had cracked replicating MEGTAF's Nth metal, and were now making weapons and armor for him and his followers. Dr. Moreau's genetic research with animal DNA was also helpful now, since his lab had also managed to acquire particular living specimens from Asia. With a little more time and luck, Moreau would also crack the monster DNA strains as well. If not, he had his back-up plan in place, thanks to a special delivery from the best thief in his organization.

He grinned maliciously as he inventoried the various Boogie Sands he now had at his disposal, plus the generous supply of so-called 'normie' sand that was included. This back-up plan to creating monsters that he controlled; temporarily turning his followers into monsters, then turning them back, had an unrelated bonus….

"Lilith, dear", he called. "Come to my study, please."

He heard her footsteps come down the stairs.

"Yes, Uncle?", she said when she entered.

"Your chance for redemption has come, my dear", he smirked.

"I'm down for anything!", she said. "What's my mission?"

"You will infiltrate Monster High and gather all the information you can", he told her as he opened a jar of Boogie Sand and poured a small amount into his hand.

"But, they know me there, Uncle Van", she said dejectedly. "And there are way too many monsters there that could sniff out my scent and find me before I could learn very much, no matter how sneaky I am."

"Not if you infiltrate undercover as a student, Lilith", he smirked, and threw the sand at her, causing her to yelp in surprise in the sand-cloud. The sound of ripping cloth could be heard in the cloud before it settled.

"Wha-what did you **do** to me?!", she gasped as she looked down at her now red-skinned hands with black-clawed fingers.

"I've used Boogie Sand to turn you into a monster, my dear."

" **WHAT?!** ", she shrieked, turning to a nearby mirror. Her skin was now scarlet-red, her brown eyes were now whitish-grey, her golden hair was now longer and streaked with black, and a pair of grey ram-like horns curled back from her forehead to down around her ears. A large pair of red bat-wings with black talons had sprouted from her back, which explained the sound of cloth ripping as they had torn through the back of her top. Waving behind her was a long tail tipped with an arrowhead-shaped growth and when she looked down at the open toes of her boots, she saw that her toes were now black cloven-hooves! She was horrified!

"You turned me into a hideous monster!", she screamed, noticing two final details. "I have fangs and my tongue is forked!"

"It's only temporary, my dear", he assured her. "I can easily return you to normal."

"Change me back **now!** "

"Tut-tut, my dear Lilith", he said. "I will turn you back once I no longer need you inside Monster High. You will spy on the school and the monster community in general. Succeed, and not only will you have redeemed yourself, but you will be a hero of our cause!"

Lilith wept as she looked in the mirror. She took some solace in her uncle's words, and a little more in the fact that even with the changes, she still had her pretty face and curvaceous body. If she **had** to be a monster, at least she was a **beautiful** monster.

"I've taken the liberty of pulling you from school on the pretence of travel abroad with me", he told her. "You will take this time to train here; learning to use your new body and all the abilities that come with it. When you're ready, you will enroll at Monster High under an assumed identity and backstory my expert will craft for you."

"So, what exactly am I?", she asked tearfully.

"A succubus", he said. "I chose this form for you due to the pheromones you will constantly exude will gently persuade everyone around you to accept you more readily. I've emailed you a link to an online boutique for monsters with wings and here is a clean, high limit credit card. Shop to your heart's content for your new monster wardrobe."

xxXXxx

Headmistress Bloodgood was at her desk, reading a progress report from Volcano Academy concerning Heath Burns. He was, thankfully, doing very well in gaining better control of his powers. When he returns to Monster High for the second semester, he will hopefully not have any more accidental fires in the school.

Just then, the crystal ball that sat on her bookshelf began to glow, then levitated over to her desk and a familiar face appeared.

"I hope this is not a bad time, Ms. Bloodgood?"

"Hello, Ms. Revenant", Grace said in greeting. "I always have a moment for the Principal of Haunted High. What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I have student to transfer to Monster High", the ghost principal said. "This is a request not only by the student, but also the Ghost King himself."

"Really?", her curiosity piqued. "Tell me more."

"The student is a prodigy in many ways; at least two years ahead of her peers here. Her physical age is twelve, and yet she easily keeps pace with high school freshmen, and is already an expert with most ghostly powers and abilities as well as having experience with almost every kind of ghost power there is. In fact she has been tutoring students much older than her in the use of their powers."

"Impressive", Bloodgood said.

"Indeed", Revenant replied. "On the advice of Clockwork, the Ghost World's Master of Time; King Phantom has suggested that she could not only do well at Monster High, but she could teach your own ghost students to learn new ghost powers and better master those they already have."

'Clockwork?', Grace thought to herself. 'Could he be one of Hexiciah's fellow Time-Walkers? Are they working together? Could this ghost girl be another of the "helpers" he told her to expect?'

"Very well", Grace said. "What is this ghoul's name?"

"Her name is Dani Phantom, with an 'i' ", Revenant explained. "She is half-ghost, like the King himself. She is, in fact, apparently a female clone of him, originally created by his arch-enemy. King Phantom loves her like a daughter, despite the fact that she is physically only five years younger than him. He and his few normie friends and family are the only real family she has ever known. Thus, the King has requested that she reside with you and the other ghouls in the dorms you have at your home; he feels she would be more comfortable with a sense of family while separated from him."

"I believe that can be arranged", Grace affirmed.

"Very good", Revenant smiled. "I will have all the required forms and records delivered to you tomorrow. King Phantom himself will bring her there via ghost-portal sometime next week."

"I look forward to meeting them both. Thank you, Regina."

"Of Course, Grace", she said. Then the crystal ball dimmed and floated back to the shelf.

xxXXxx

Claire was still adjusting to her new life as a witch. Her parents were very supportive, and Jackson was great; picking her up and bringing her home from Monster High everyday. Classes were kinda different, but similar as well. And it's awesome learning magick from Boodika Le Fey. However, Claire couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to Ms. Le Fey's interest in her. It nagged at her ever since they first met, and now she **had** to know!

"Ms. Le Fey?", she asked after class was dismissed and the others had left the room. "I know I'm a complete rookie when it comes to magick, so I need a lot of help; but I've noticed how often you look at me as if you've seen a ghost. What's going on? I need to know."

"You're right", the elder witch sighed, as she took an old book off her magick bookshelf. "You should know."

"A spell book?", Claire asked.

"No", she said. "A family album."

Boodika opened the album and began turning pages. "Long ago, when I was still young, my sister Jordanna was as gifted a witch as me, perhaps more so. But she fell in love….with a normal, mortal man. Our mother gave her a choice: forsake her love, or forsake her magick and family. Needless to say, mom was not as enlightened as I am."

"What did your sister decide?", Claire asked. Boodika smiled gently.

"She loved us and her magick", she said sadly. "But she could not deny her heart. We parted tearfully, and to protect her love, they moved far away. I never saw or heard from her again."

"No disrespect", Claire said, "but what does this have to do with **me**?"

Boodika smiled warmly at her and turned another page….to a picture of a teen-age girl with long dark hair in an old-fashioned style, period clothes, and Claire's face! Claire's eyes widened in shock.

"My magick confirmed it after I found you", Boodika said. "Your great-grandmother was Jordanna Le Fey; my long-lost sister."

xxXXxx

"Well, that should do it", Robecca said satisfactorily, as she finished repairs. They had managed to finish repairs in just under twenty hours.

"Then let's get going", Clawdeen said with a grin, giving the engineers a thumbs-up. "We're already a day behind."

"I just texted Elizzabat", Draculaura said, holding her iCoffin. "So she knows when to expect us now."

The engine fired up, and the train began to chug along, picking up speed. Even with a brief stop on the way, they would arrive at the Vampire Court by the following evening.

Once they got back to the lounge car, Duncan decided it was time to tell Clawdeen what he'd discovered.

"Clawdeen, the crate that I found in the cargo car?", he started.

"What about it, Hon?"

"Ghoulia and I looked it over", he continued ominously. "It was **rigged** to open after midnight two nights ago."

"Rigged?", she growled. "Then that means…"

"It was **deliberate** ", Duncan confirmed. "Imagine if we hadn't been able to stop them so quickly, or if we didn't have Robecca and Ghoulia with us…..?"

"We could've been stuck for days, or worse", she realized. "Someone knows about my mission, and they **don't** want me to succeed."

"But they don't know you very well, do they?", Duncan smirked.

"Got that right, Handsome", she grinned, givng him a kiss. "With all of you with me, nothin's gonna stop me!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: The Quest is back on track and continues! But who arranged to put the crate containing the Mogwai on the train? And what will they do when they learn their plan failed? Wait and see!**

 **My take on Lilith Van Hellscream's succubus form was inspired by Creaturemaster turning her into a very similar 'jersey devil' in his Ben10xMonster High masterpiece: "We are Monsters"! Those of you who haven't yet, check it out along with his sequel: "Once Upon a Tennyson"!**

 **Clockwork, the Time Ghost from 'Danny Phantom',** ** _is_** **one of Hexiciah Steam's Time allies. Many of my works here will have appearances by members of my "Multiversal Time Corps."; none of whom I own: Professor Paradox(Ben 10), Hexiciah Steam(Monster High), Future-Trunks(Dragonball Z), Sora(Kingdom Hearts, Keyblade wielder), ClockWork(Danny Phantom), and Metron(DC). This idea was also inspired by my friend Creaturemaster!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are welcome as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	30. Chapter 29

**_Hey, Everyone! Two new OC's this chapter, and Tiffany gets a last name! ENJOY!_**

Chapter 28

"Remind me to thank Kenny for letting me borrow his Jeep while he's recovering at the clinic", Chad smiled warmly at his date. Jinafire was snuggled up to him in the front seat, as they watched the latest super-hero blockbuster movie at the New Salem Drive-In Theatre. Although "watch" was a relative term; as they were making out more than half the time!

Jinafire smiled and looked lovingly into his brown eyes after breaking a particularly passionate kiss.

"Indeed", she grinned. "This 'drive-in theatre' experience is new to me. I like it."

They started making out again, kissing deeply as their passion was building. They were both still pleasantly surprised at the depth of their feelings for each other. Despite their youth, each felt that the other completed them. He always treated her respectfully, and she loved him for it, but her desire was rising, becoming a fire she could not deny. She wanted **more** than just kissing the boy she loved.

"You **can** touch me, Chad", she breathed, her eyes half-lidded with a sultry look. He looked at her in mild surprise as she slid a hand up his leg to gently grab his family jewels through the front of his jeans, causing him to moan softly as his member swelled. With her other hand she took one of his and placed it on her breast, and squeezed. Even through her dress and bra, his touch felt wonderful. With her tail, she pulled him in for a passionate kiss, her forked tongue wrestling his.

Suddenly, pounding on the passenger door surprised them.

"What are you doing on our side of town, you filthy monsters?!", a male voice shouted. Jinafire growled as she opened the door and stepped out. The teen boy was tall and handsome with dark hair and blue eyes and an athletic build to go with his New Salem High letterman jacket. The red Corvette behind him was new and expensive.

"I am enjoying a date with my boyfriend", she growled, smoke curling from her mouth and nose, as Chad stepped out on the driver side. "Not that it is any of you business."

"Back off, Mike", Chad said. "She's with me."

"Chad! I should've known", Mike sneered. "It's bad enough that you hang out with those Monster High freaks, but now you're **dating** one? Figures!"

"I'm not surprised!", Tiffany sniped, as she stepped out of Mike's car. "Claire turned out to be a damn witch! I bet he's secretly some kinda monster, too!"

"Don't be such a bitch, Tiffany", Chad said calmly, as Jinafire began to fume.

"You know these two normies, Chad?", she asked as he stepped beside her and took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers.

"Yeah", he huffed. "Mike Richardson; quarter-back, wrestling captain, and richest guy in school. And Tiffany Kase, head cheerleader and queen bee."

"Ah, yes", Jinafire said, her eyes narrowing at the blonde, "the girl who was such a bitch to Claire."

"Monsters ain't supposed to be on our side of town", Mike barked, as the confrontation began to draw more attention. "They **all** know that!"

"And I said **back** **off** , Mike!", Chad barked back, raising his voice slightly. "Jinafire is here with **me**! And, **yes** , she **_is_** my girlfriend!"

"What's wrong, Chad?", Tiffany sneered. "Can't get a **real** girl?"

"Heh! Just like that Kenny kid!", Mike snickered.

Jinafire was starting to lose patience, but she knew better than to start anything **here**. The normie police were quick to arrest **any** monster with even the slightest **hint** of provocation.

"Oh yeah", Chad snarked with a grin. "I **_always_** wanted to date a vapid blonde who's about as deep as a puddle."

The gathering crowd "Oooooooooooh"-ed, impressed at the courage—or stupidity—of Chad mouthing off to the school 'power-couple' and scoring a prime 2nd-degree burn on Tiffany! Jinafire smiled at her boyfriend with pride.

"Oh! No! You did **_not_** just call me **shallow** , did you?!", Tiffany yelled.

"If you mean that I think we could stand in a pool of _you_ and not get our feet wet? Then….yeah.", Chad deadpanned.

"That's it, dork!", Mike snarled. "You and your monster girl better get the hell outta here! Now!"

"Oh yeah, sure", Chad said sarcastically. "After all, Tiffany's wearing big hoop ear-rings, so I wouldn't want to ruin your date."

"The hell are you talkin' about?", he scowled.

"As they say, 'why do blondes wear hooped ear-rings'?"

"Huh?", the athlete asked, even as Tiffany snarled at Chad, "Don't you **_dare_** say it!"

" 'Someplace to put their ankles' ", Chad smirked, to the mixed reactions of the crowd around them. Some cheered or laughed, others 'ooooooo'-ed at the burn, others were indignant at this upstart **daring** to stand up to the elites.

"Raaagh!", Mike snarled as he charged. He shoved Chad down, only for Chad to grab his wrists as he fell, dragging Mike down with him. Chad brought his knees up at the same time, knocking the wind out of the bully as he landed on them. Chad then rolled Mike off of him, and they both stood up. Chad took his Drunken Fist stance and waited for his opponent. Sucking hard for breath, Mike swung his fists at Chad, who blocked by slapping them widely away, which also messed with Mike's balance, angering him further. Chad's movements, while appearing clumsy and random, were effectively using his own weight and momentum, combined with that of his opponent, against the larger boy. _'That is the secret of Drunken Fist kung fu'_ , Jinafire had told him.

Mike lunged at Chad, intending to get him in a grappling hold, then overwhelm him with his strength and wrestling skill. Chad did a backbending-spinning dodge to the side which turned into a back-handed forearm blow to Mike's back, driving him to the ground. Chad then did a spinning fall, landing another back-handed blow to the back of Mike's head as he started pushing himself up, driving his face back to the ground, breaking his nose.

Chad stood up, as the star athlete laid on the ground groaning in his own blood. He was actually amazed that what he'd learned had worked so well. The crowd was shocked silent as he went back to Jinafire.

"Let's go, Jin", he said to his date. She nodded with a smile and got in the Jeep. He got in and started the engine, and they drove away.

A short while later, Chad was walking Jinafire to the door of Bloodgood's mansion. She took his hands in hers as she looked lovingly into his eyes.

"Thank you for defending my honor, Chad", she said. "You have learned well."

"You're a good teacher", he smiled. "And I know you're more than capable of defending yourself, but I just couldn't let them talk bad about you."

She smiled and blew a heart-shaped smoke ring around his face, then leaned in to kiss him as it disappated.

"My father back in Fang-hai has accepted that my heart has been touched by a normie", she told him. "He is very old, wise, and enlightened. However, my seven brothers may require more convincing."

"I'm not gonna have to fight them, am I?", he asked nervously. "Because getting lucky against one musclehead is one thing….seven fully trained and deadly dragons is totally different. I mean, I would if I had to, but I would probably die in the attempt."

"No", she laughed. "They will—as you say—'come around' as they see how happy I am with you."

"Well, my parents were always fine with me having monster friends", he told her. "So it wasn't too much of a leap for them to accept me dating you. They want to meet you soon, if you're ok with it?"

"Of course!", she beamed. "I look forward to it."

"Then we'll work out the details soon", he smiled, then leaned in to kiss her deeply. "Good night, Jin. I…..I love you."

Jinafire's heart swelled. That was the first time he had said those words.

"I love you too, Chad. Good night."

xxXXxx

The Quest group gave a fond farewell to Tara Kardz when she departed the Gore-ient Express at her stop. Her gypsy clan was grateful to them for saving Tara from the gremlins and delivering her safely. Clawd was confused on how they knew; when Tara explained that her grandmother, the leader of the clan, probably saw what happened in her crystal ball.

That was hours ago. They got off the train at the next stop: the Transylvania station. They were climbing into a large limo-coach to get to Castle Dracul; the family home built by Draculaura's grandfather, and now home to the Vampire Court. As they pulled away, a werewolf working at the station growled as he dialed his iCoffin.

The trip in the coach was familiar to Draculaura, as well as Robecca and Clawdeen; who remembered the last time they were here, an adventure that Clawdeen told Duncan all about as they traveled. The adventures of his ghoulfriend and her friends never ceased to amaze him. He looked forward to meeting Elizzabat, the Vampire Queen. Hopefully, she would have a clue to find the new Alpha.

They arrived at Castle Dracul and were escorted in by Ygor; Coach Igor's brother, another hunch-back. When his former master; Lord Stoker, was exiled, he chose to remain loyal to the Court and the new Queen. The ghouls greeted him warmly, and the guys insisted on helping him with the luggage.

"The Queen requests your presence in the throne room once the servants and I have shown you to your rooms and you have had a chance to rest and refresh yourselves from your journey", Ygor said as he led the way upstairs.

"Thanks, Ygor", Draculaura said sweetly. "And if it's all the same to you, Clawd and I can share a room?"

"Us, too?", Clawdeen smiled, her arm wrapped around Duncan's as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Of course! Heh-heh", the hunch-back answered as he guided them to a hallway of rooms. "You may choose whatever rooms you like. Queen Elizzabat will meet you in the throneroom in one hour."

Abby, Ghoulia, Robecca, and Howleen each took a room for themselves and relaxed. The couples each took a room on opposite sides of the hall. While they rested, everyone decided it would a good idea to message their loved ones back home; let them know they were ok.

xxXXxx

Remus Darkclaw was growling as he stalked the hallways of the Temple of the Moon, so much so that most of his fellow Council members gave him wide berth. He was not a werewolf to trifle with. He was arguably the strongest and most powerful werewolf alive, exceeded only by a fully empowered Alpha. Some believed that he had supplemented his century of training and experience with dark magic to gain such power. The truth was far worse. Over the years, he had secretly murdered several pack alphas and betas to steal their power, usually those who had failed him in some way.

His current bout of anger stemmed from what he just heard from a werewolf loyal to him stationed in Transylvania as a spy. His plan to delay the new Alpha until the passing of the Ascention Moon had failed completely. Somehow, she and those with her had not only managed to quickly kill all the gremlins he had arranged to plant on the train, but also to repair all the damage to the train that they had undoubtedly caused! What should have been the delay of a week had become only a day!

Fortunately, there was only one route from Transylvania to the Mountains of the Moon that would get them here in time after their brief stay at the 'Leech's Court': Treaty Pass, the **only** way by train through the Crystal Mountains. Remus hated that place. It was there that the peace treaty with the vampires had been signed by that weak old fool Fenris! He allowed himself a small smile; he would kill two bats with one stone.

xxXXxx

Queen Elizzabat was sitting on her throne wearing her ruby and gold bat-tiara and her favorite black gown when her guests entered.

"Elizzabat!", Draculaura called, rushing forward.

"Draculaura!", she answered, descending from her throne to hug her childhood best friend, and the one responsible for giving her the courage to accept her destiny. "I've missed you!"

"Welcome everyone", she greeted the others warmly, as she remembered all of them from the last time she saw them….except one new face.

"Elizzabat? Meet Duncan Rosenblatt", Clawdeen smiled. "My boyfriend."

"A pleasure, your Majesty", he bowed as he kissed her hand like a gentleman.

"The pleasure is mine, Prince Duncan", she smiled as he blinked in surprise. "Yes, I know who you are. Your father welcomed me to the Monster Council of Royals quite pleasantly for so fearsome a monster. It seems that he and most of the others were not fond of my uncle and were most pleased when I assumed the throne and exiled him."

"Good riddance! Hmph!", Draculaura huffed.

"Enough about him", Elizzabat said pleasantly. "Please! Join me for dinner! And we will talk of more pleasant and important things."

An excellent feast had been prepared for them all, including blended vegetable juice and vegan dishes for Draculaura. There was also a normie dining with them whom Elizzabat introduced as 'Stefan', and given the way they looked at each other, the others had a feeling there was something between them. They also began to wonder why the Queen wasn't eating, when Stefan spoke up.

"I'm ready when you are, my Queen", he said lovingly to Elizzabat.

"Of course", she smiled, then turned to her guests. "Excuse us for a few moments?"

They got up from the table and went through the curtains out to the balcony. Draculaura figured it out.

"He's a willing donor", she told the others. "Some normies are willing to allow vampires to feed from them. It's allowed under monster law, as long as they don't die or get turned. More often, vampires feed from a supply of both animal blood and donated normie blood. Some loving couples also occasionally feed from each other; like my Dad and step-mom or like Vanna was going to do to Kenny. Eeuugh", she shivered.

A few minutes later, Elizzabat and Stefan returned holding hands with each other and took their seats again. Stefan had a fresh bandage on his neck.

"Thank you for your patience, everyone", Elizzabat said.

"Elizzabat", Draculaura smiled knowingly. "There's more to Stefan than being a willing donor, isn't there?"

"Is it that obvious?", she and Stefan blushed. "Stefan offered himself as a willing donor not long after I took the throne. We became friends, and told each other our un-life stories. I was saddened to hear that, like me, the rest of his family was gone. Over time, we fell in love. At the next opportunity, under Royal Privilege, I intend to petition my fellow Royals to allow me to turn him so we can be together forever."

"EEEEEEEE!", Draculaura squealed, hugging her friend. "I'm so happy for you two! I just know they'll let you do it!"

"Congrats, luvs", Robecca smiled.

"It's fangtastic that you found each other", Clawdeen agreed.

"If it's what you **both** want, go for it, you two", Duncan said, remembering what Vanna Pirella had put Kenny through. The difference here was that it seemed Stefan wanted it as much as Elizzabat, because he really loved her.

The others all offered congratulations and moral support.

"Thank you", Stefan said humbly. "All of you. When I first became a donor, I had no idea it would lead to falling in love." He and Elizzabat looked lovingly into each other's eyes; his blue to her pink.

"Elizzabat was the first to feed from me who treated me like an equal, who cared about me for more than just my blood. Soon, she was the only one I would let feed from me, and it grew from there."

"The Ministers objected when I informed them of my intentions, thinking Stefan just wanted to be King", Elizzabat continued.

"Most of them changed their minds when I told them that I had no such intentions, that I only wanted to love her forever", Stefan said. "I signed a document, in blood, that I would freely give up any possible claim, and only desire to serve the Queen as her consort."

"Well, good luck, you two", Clawd said.

"Thank you", they both said with a warm smile.

"Speaking of Royals", Elizzabat said, changing the subject and turning to Clawdeen. "To my knowledge, the new Alpha is headed for the Mountains of the Moon. You must find the Alpha and be there by the next full moon…."

"To ensure the new Alpha receives their full powers", Clawdeen finished. "Yeah, I know."

"You must take the train through the Crystal Mountains", Elizzabat told her. "Through Treaty Pass, to be exact. My limo will get you to the private train I arranged for you tomorrow morning. It's smaller than the Gore-ient Express, but it will get you there. You should find the Alpha on the way and make it with a day to spare."

"Thanks, Elizzabat", Clawdeen smiled.

"It's the least I can do for friends who've helped me and all vampires", the queen replied with a smile.

The ghouls spent the next few hours talking clothes, make-up, boys, gossip, and Elizzabat's next boovie while trying on clothes in the Queen's **_huge_** closet. Duncan and Clawd hung out with Stefan talking about their adventures on the quest so far, and Duncan showed them both some of the martial arts he had learned from Jinafire. Finally, they all retired to their rooms for some much needed rest. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

Stefan retired to Elizzabat's chamber with her, and was asleep in her bed with her fairly quickly, given that she had fed from him that night. She did most of her own sleeping during the day, but enjoyed laying beside him to watch him sleep. They had shared many nights since they had declared their love for each other. She had been touched by the fact that when she first shared her body with him, she was his first lover.

"Soon, my love", she whispered, gently stroking his dark blonde hair as he slept. "Soon, you will spend eternity with me."

She had no doubt her fellow Royals would grant her request when they gathered to welcome the new Alpha to the Council. She was not entirely comfortable with deceiving her friends, especially Draculaura and Clawdeen. But Fenris had explained to her that Clawdeen had to find it within herself; that was the purpose of the 'quest'. She was reasonably certain Clawdeen would forgive her and still vote in her favor about Stefan.

She smiled and leaned down to kiss Stefan on the cheek….gently, so as not to wake him. He was strikingly handsome when awake. But asleep and at peace, he seemed to take on a beauty that was almost angelic in her eyes. He smiled and moaned slightly in his sleep when her lips touched his cheek, and he reached out and snuggled closer to her.

xxXXxx

"It's good to be home with a clean bill of health!", Kenny said as he walked into the house, followed by Margaret.

"I'm just happy that the cure worked", Margaret said in relief. Kenny spent a total of four days and five nights at the clinic, and one aspect of that made her smirk teasingly at her foster son. "And I'm sure you and Frankie enjoyed spending so much time together, despite the circumstances."

"Mom!", he blushed furiously. Granted, he had to stay in bed almost the whole time; Frankie did spend every moment she could spare by his side, and her parents did catch them making out once or twice. No doubt, Frankie's mom told his mom; hence the teasing. He didn't let it bother him. He smiled as he climbed the stairs to his room. Frankie had told him that Vanna was still glaring at her in school.

'Sucks to be her!', he thought to himself. He flopped on his bed and started texting Frankie. They had a movie date to plan!

xxXXxx

The next morning at the train station, Elizzabat and Stefan had decided to see them off. The private train Elizzabat had arranged for them really was small; just an engine, a crew/kitchen car, and a car that was half lounge and half compartments. The ghost engineers and crew announced they were ready to pull out as soon as the passengers boarded.

"Good bye, my friends", Elizzabat told them all, hugging Draculaura. "And good luck."

"Same to you and Stefan!", Clawdeen said, while the guys fist-bumped Stefan.

xxXXxx

The next day, they entered the Crystal Mountains, and the tracks led upward into them.

"So how did they get the name 'Crystal Mountains'?", Duncan asked, looking out the windows of the lounge-end of the car. "Because they look pretty normal to me."

"Because for centuries, monsters and normies have mined crystals here", Clawdeen answered. "The Mountains are riddled with old mine shafts and tunnels."

"Ok, fair enough. But what about 'Treaty Pass'?", was his next question.

"It's the only way from one side to the other.", Draculaura said. "It was half-way through the Pass that the peace treaty between vampires and werewolves was signed, ending the last war. The Crystal Mountains are kind of the unofficial border between the capital kingdoms of the two sides."

High above Treaty Pass, a red and brown werewolf watched the train approach, grinning as he held his iCoffin; his thumb poised over the 'send' button.

"In a few minutes we'll pass by the place where the treaty was signed", Draculaura said.

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion shook the train just before the brakes started to screech. The ghost conductor phased in quickly.

"Brace yourselves! The Pass has been blown and there's a rock-slide coming down!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Cliffhanger! Literally! LOL!**

 **Two new OC's: Mike Richardson, normie New Salem High star athlete and jerk.**

 **And Stefan, love interest of the Vampire Queen Elizzabat Stoker. Why? Because like I said before, I'm a big softie! This time, though, it kinda came to me out of the blue while I was writing.**

 **As always, reviews and suggestions are welcome!**

 **xxXXxx**


	31. Chapter 30

**_Hey, Everyone! Two more OC's this chapter. However, this will be 'one-shot' appearances for both. The first is Maru, a 'deer-elf'who acts as a sort of spirit-guide. The other is what I call an 'ogre-bear'; think ten foot tall version of the 'Scarebear' from n episode of "Scooby Doo, Mystery Inc."_**

Chapter 30

"Clawdeen? Clawdeen?! Oh gods, please wake up?!"

Clawdeen heard the voice becoming clearer and clearer, as she felt a warm hand gently slapping her face. She groaned as she opened her eyes.

"Thank the Mother Goddess!", Duncan breathed in relief as he helped her sit up. "For a minute there I thought I lost you!"

"Not g-getting rid of me that easy, Handsome", she rasped through her dry throat. He held a water bottle to her mouth and she drank. Then he kissed her deeply.

"Is everyone ok?", she asked after breaking the kiss.

"Aside from a few cuts, bumps and bruises, yeah", he said. They looked around. Abby was lifting some debris off of Howleen, who got up and moved toward her siblings. Robecca was talking to the ghost train crew, and Ghoulia was salvaging her laptop.

"What's the situation?", Clawdeen asked.

"According to the engineer, someone must've set a bomb above the Pass to cause that rockslide", Duncan explained. "The engine was totaled, and he said that he would've been killed if he wasn't already a ghost. Luckily for all of us, he hit the brakes quickly and held them as long as he did, or the whole train would've been crushed and buried with us in it!"

She looked at the mass of twisted metal that was the engine, as well as the semi-shattered remains of the train cars.

"They said that even if we could clear the rocks from the Pass", Robecca said as she returned from talking tom the crew, "the damage to the tracks and train is too severe. We would have to wait for help."

"That's it then", Clawdeen said, slumping in defeat. "There ain't no way we'll find the Alpha and make it to the Moon Temple in time now. I've failed." Clawd and most of the others also started to feel that they had lost.

"No way, Sis!", Howleen urged, shaking Clawdeen and the others from their gloom. "It ain't over 'til it's over! And I never known you to give up, Clawdeen!"

"Little doggie is right", Abby said, standing up. "So train is now junk. We still know which way to go!"

"Totes!", Draculaura piped up.

Clawdeen stood up. Her friends were right, she **never** gives up and she's not gonna start now!

"Ok, guys and ghouls!", she said with renewed determination. "Let's go!"

"I'll scout ahead", Draculaura said, turning into a bat. "Maybe I'll find help or something useful."

"Good idea!", Clawdeen said. "But be careful and report back frequently, Ok?"

"Aye-aye, Capt. Clawdeen!", she affirmed before flying up ahead.

The ghost crew chose to remain with the wrecked train, while the quest group pressed on, carefully picking their way across all the rocks and boulders. Once to the other side, the plan was to alternate running and walking every mile or so until they could find help of any kind.

The debris-field had just begun to thin, when they reached the monument to the treaty-signing over a century ago; an engraved obelisk standing behind a stone table. They stopped to show respect for the historic site. Clawdeen, Howleen, Clawd, and Draculaura were particularly moved. If Fenris Silvermane had not negotiated for peace with then-Prime Minister Stoker(Elizzabat's uncle, possibly the **only** good thing he'd done in his tenure), the war might still be going, causing untold destruction and bloodshed. Clawd and Draculaura held each other close, realizing that they would probably not be together if that were the case. After a few moments, the pretty vampire kissed her boyfriend and turned into a bat again to fly ahead.

"I kinda understand how you feel about this place", Duncan said softly to his ghoulfriend. "There's marker in San Francisco where my mom first met my dad, essentially ending the Human/Kaiju War."

"Thanks", she said, leaning into his embrace. "It's one thing to read about this place, or learn about it in school. It's another to actually **be** here and see it." She smiled and kissed him, then stepped away and clapped to get everyone's attention.

"Well we better get moving, Everyone. Let's goooooooo…!?", she started to say, just before she dropped from sight!

"CLAWDEEN?!", Duncan yelled, rushing to the spot where she had been. He found a hole just big enough to slip through as the others gathered around him in concern. "Clawdeen?! Are you alright?!"

"*cough-cough*Yeah, I'm ok", she called back up. It was pretty deep, given how distant her voice sounded.

"What is this hole?", Clawd asked. Ghoulia took a closer look.

"Hahaeiuh."

"An airshaft?", Robecca said. "Like in an old mine?"

"You did say these mountains were full of old crystal mines", Duncan reminded them. "We don't have any rope, so I'm going down to get her." He moved toward to hole, only for Ghoulia to block his way, shaking her head.

"Uuuhh!"

"We can't just leave her down there, Ghoulia!", he said urgently.

"Awuhaieuh!"

"She's right, Duncan", Robecca said. "The shaft could collapse in on itself and bury you alive!"

"But she's trapped!", Duncan yelled. Ghoulia looked at the hole, and noticed the leaves around the edge were being gently blown away from the hole.

"Ah! Aieeuuhah."

"She's right!", Clawd said, holding his hand over the opening. "There's air flowing out of the hole, which means…."

"Then that means there's another way out!", Duncan breathed in relief.

"Clawdeen!", he called down to her.

"Yeah?"

"We think you're in an old mine", he yelled. "Follow the direction the airflow is coming from. It should lead you either to a way out, or a safer place for us to get you out through."

She closed her eyes and focused on her hair and fur, to feel the direction of the air.

"Ok! I got it!", she called back up the shaft. "Looks like it's roughly the same direction we were headed."

"Ok!", Duncan yelled. "We'll keep going, and I'll join Draculaura in the air to keep an eye out for you or places you might come out! Good luck, and I love you!"

"I love you, too! See you soon!"

xxXXxx

It was dark in the tunnel, but her own night-vision—combined with the dim light from her iCoffin—enabled her to see well enough not to stumble in the dark. Eventually, she found some mine-cart tracks and kept following them along with the airflow. Occasionally, the tunnel opened up into natural chambers that showed evidence the crystals being mined. This must have been one of the richer mines in the mountains, judging by what she was seeing. Twice in such chambers, she had to find the correct tunnel to follow by feeling for the airflow.

She heard something faint up ahead, something musical….singing? It became clearer as she got closer; a gentle voice singing. She came around a bend into a fairly large chamber. A single ray of light streamed down from above onto a stone table with several large crystals growing up from it, and several crystal shards and fragments littered the floor around it. There next to the table was a small figure. She looked almost like a smaller version of Isi Dawndancer, the deer-spirit ghoul from New Hexico. She was about four and a half feet tall, with small branching antlers protruding up through her flowing snow-white hair along with her deer-like ears. She was wearing a small simple white dress that also seemed kind of….ethereal…..just like her lovely voice.

 _Praise for the tall trees_

 _Praise for the sea breeze_

 _Praise for the night's starlight boon_

 _Praise for the red dawn_

 _Grass that we walk upon_

 _Praise for the river's whispered tune_

 _Praise for the wind brother_

 _Praise for the earth mother_

Clawdeen walked up quietly so as not to disturb the singer or her beautiful song. The tune rang true in her heart, and she couldn't help but be drawn into it.

 _Praise for father sun and sister moon_

 _Praise for father sun and sister moon (Clawdeen can't help herself, and howls in harmony)_

 _Hey-ya, hey-ya, hey-ya (howl)_

 _Hey-ya, hey-ya, hey-ya(howl)_

"Your singing is quite beautiful", the deer-ghoul said with a smile. Her eyes were as green as the forest.

"Thanks. Your song was so beautiful, I just couldn't help myself", Clawdeen told her. "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't interrupt you?"

"Oh, no!", she said, as she continued to busy herself with the crystal shards around the stone topped with growing crystals. "I love to hear wolves sing. It's one of you specialties. *giggle* You also have such a keen sense of smell. Such wonderful creatures you are."

"I'm not feelin' so special right now", Clawdeen said bitterly. "I'm just a city ghoul out of my depth."

"Oh! Then **that** is why I am not afraid of you", she chuckled. "Why should I be afraid of one who does not know who she is?"

"Whoa, hold on! I know who I am", the werewolf said sharply. "I'm Clawdeen Wolf, daughter of Clawson and Harriet, werewolf and up & coming fashion designer. Who are you?"

"I am Maru, Daughter of Tirr and Freya, both simple deer-elves", she replied. "These answers tell us **what** we are, but not **who** we are."

"Ok", Clawdeen said, confused. "Then how do I find out _who_ I am?"

Maru kept moving and adjusting shards among the crystals, catching the beam of light.

"What are you doing?", Clawdeen asked. Just then, Maru caught the tiny beam just right, refracting it into the rest of the crystals, lighting up the cavern, to reveal sparkling tribal drawings on the walls. Clawdeen could almost hear whispy voices coming from them.

"Wow", she said softly in awe.

"I am shedding light where darkness lies", Maru replied. "When every creature in the world is born, a spirit stands beside them."

"Why?", she asked.

"To light their way through the long dark night, and sing them songs to guide them."

"Why?" Clawdeen asked again.

"Because each of us has a destiny that sets us all apart", Maru told her. "The path is different for you and me, but the journey begins in the heart."

Maru began to sing.

 _You must go to the East_

 _Go to the West_

 _The road is rocky and the way is far_

 _It's a dangerous trail_

 _A difficult quest_

 _If you want to know,_

 _Who you really are_

(The wispy voices began to join the song)

 _There are voices all around you_

 _To comfort and to guide you_

 _Fathers and teachers,_

 _Powerful creatures_

 _And a voice_

 _that sings inside you_ (a spirit-wolf howls)

(stern spirit voices)

 _Or you can turn back around_

 _Run along home_

 _Back to the place where you came from_

(a soothing gentle spirit voice)

 _Perhaps that is best_

 _You need the rest_

(a sarcastic spirit voice)

 _Who wants to go on a ridiculous quest?_

(various spirit voices)

 _Unless you want to know_

 _You truly want to know_

 _Unless you want to know_

(Maru's voice)

 _Who you really are_

(spirit voices fading)

 _Who are you, who are you_

 _Who are you, who are you_

 _Who are you, who are you_

 _Who are you, who are you_

"Maru, are you here to help me find the Alpha?", Clawdeen asked, turning to look at the deer-elf, only to find her not there.

"Have faith and trust in yourself", Maru's voice echoed from the darkness. "And make the journey."

Just then, Clawdeen felt a gust of wind. Still wondering what just happened, and where her new friend went; she turned toward it, and entered the tunnels. She found the mine-car tracks again quickly, and followed them and the wind. Behind her, on the wall along with the other sparkling tribal drawings, was the small female figure of a deer-elf.

Clawdeen finally turned a bend and saw daylight ahead. The mine tracks converged with others from other directions in a large room just inside the way out. She took a few steps out into that room, when she heard the snarl and roar of something big behind her to the right.

She turned quickly to see an ogre-bear! It must have been in one of the other tunnels or she would've smelled it! It stood up, standing ten feet tall and four feet wide, and swiped at her with four-inch claws. She ducked and mad a mad dash for the exit!

She came out to find the track rails continued outward another thirty feet or so, before they—and the ground—dropped away into a chasm! They must've been destroyed in a long-ago land-slide! She was trapped! The bear squeezed itself through the opening, charged, then stood back up, rearing high over her. With nowhere to go, she growled; baring her fangs and claws, ready to fight for her life. Roaring, it drew back a huge clawed hand to strike.

A different roar split the air, as Duncan slammed into the ogre-bear from above, sinking his fangs and claws into the arm about to strike the ghoul he loved. The bear roared in pain and anger, and managed to toss him aside.

"Duncan?!", Clawdeen called out, relieved to see her boyfriend.

"Hey, Sweetie", he said as he squared off with the beast.

"Get out of here, you magnificent idiot!", Clawdeen cried.

"What? And miss all the fun?", he smirked. "This thing may be big, but it's no kaiju!"

Rolling her eyes, she jumped on its back, biting and clawing. The bear reared back in anger, tossing her off, and turned on her; backing the werewolf almost to the edge. Duncan ran and slid between its legs to come up by the side of his lady-love, both ready to fight. The ogre-bear roared at them. Duncan breathed fire on the ground between them and it. It stopped advancing but stayed where it was and kept roaring, apparently waiting for the flames to die down.

"Why won't this thing back down?", Duncan wondered out loud. Clawdeen was wondering the same thing, until she saw two smaller furry forms poke their faces out of the entrance. Then she knew.

"Fly us outta here, Duncan!", she yelled urgently.

"What?!"

"She's just protecting her cubs! Just fly us outta here!"

Nodding, he picked her up bridal style and flew them in the direction he had come from.

xxXXxx

Duncan flew Clawdeen up the mountain to where the others were waiting next to the train tracks. Before landing, she saw Robecca working on what appeared to be two mine-carts. She had them upside-down so she could work on the wheels.

"Clawdeen!", Draculaura squealed, rushing over to hug her BFF.

"Good to see you again, Sis", Clawd grinned. Then he looked at Duncan. "What was all the commotion down there?"

"Turns out that mine entrance was being used as a den by some kinda monster bear", Duncan answered.

"An ogre-bear", Clawdeen specified. "A mother with cubs."

"Ouch", Clawd winced. "So why didn't she attack you the times you went down to get these carts out on the ledge?"

"I dunno", Duncan shrugged.

"Maybe it was because you didn't go inside", Clawdeen speculated. "You weren't an immediate threat, so she and her cubs just stayed hidden. But when I came out of the tunnels, I was right there; an imminent threat, so she went ballistic."

"Ahuaah", Ghoulia moaned, affirming that her theory made sense.

"Finished", Robecca called out with a hint of victory. "Abby, Duncan? Can you place these carts on the tracks, please?"

"Dah!", the yeti said.

"Ok", Duncan nodded.

The two powerhouses each lifted a cart and they placed them carefully on the train-tracks. Then they helped Robecca link them together.

"Our chariot awaits, luvs!", Robecca declared.

"That's cool and all, Robecca", Clawdeen said. "But we got wheels and no engine."

"Sure we do", Robecca smirked, activating her steam-jets and rockets, lifting off the ground.

"Everybody in and lets go!", Clawdeen grinned.

Duncan, Howleen, and Draculaura got in the front cart with Clawdeen, while Clawd, Abby, and Ghoulia got in the rear cart. Robecca got behind the carts to push and fired up to full power. They began to move….slowly at first, but picking up speed. Soon they were racing along even faster than the train had.

It wasn't long before they were down out of the Crystal Mountains. They still had to stop at every station so Robecca could re-fuel her rockets. It was during those stops that Clawdeen and the rest of the group inquired about the Alpha from the locals, always to disappointing results.

xxXXxx

Remus Darkclaw was livid! **How** did she keep overcoming **_every_** obstacle he put in her way?! The gang at the Lurkish airport, the gremlins on the train, the bomb in the Crystal Montains; she and her friends got past them all! It was irritating enough that Fenris, that old fool, had already returned here with her parents. On top of that, the Royals had also started to arrive to attend the Ascention and 'welcome the new Alpha to the Council'. At this point, there was no way to stop her from arriving in time. He was running low on options! Well, his next stratagem only required that he and his followers "greet" her and her party when they arrive, before Fenris and the rest of the Elder Alphas and Betas could interfere.

xxXXxx

Clawdeen and the others were almost to their destination, and Clawdeen was getting discouraged, but kept her determination. Maybe the Alpha would get to the Moon Temple on their own? Still, she kept asking around at every stop. Eventually, one gargoyle told Clawdeen that, "the only werewolf leader I've seen around here lately is **you**."

They arrived at the last rail station before their destination, at the foot of the Mountains of the Moon. Clawdeen and her siblings followed the scent of werewolves to the right trail into the mountains. The Ascention Moon would rise in several hours.

"What is this I feeling?", Howleen asked as they hiked up the trail.

"Yeah, I feel it, too", Clawd said. "Like this place is whispering to me."

"It's the power and history of our people….our ancestors", Clawdeen said reverently, feeling the energy all the way to her core. "Some say that the temple was built here because this is where the first werewolves were born from our Mother the Moon."

Further up the trail, a short distance from the Temple, Remus Darkclaw and several of his followers were waiting.

"There they are", he growled to the others. "Block their path; do **not** let them past you! Keep the others from interfering but do **_not_** engage them unless they push a fight; I need to concentrate on **_her_**. Well? What are you waiting for? **Get** them!"

The choice of a female as Alpha had one draw-back that Remus intended to exploit; she would still be submissive to a dominant alpha male mate! As a powerful alpha himself, he could impose his will on a lesser wolf, and in the case of a female he could force the mating bond! She would still be Alpha, but she would ultimately serve **_him_**.

"We're almost there", Clawdeen smiled to her friends. She only hoped that the Alpha was already here. Then a strong scent entered her nose, just before several werewolves blocked their path. Most looked like them; but a few had the more wolfen appearance similar to Fenris. One of them, an imposing black and silver specimen was at their center. The others surrounded the group, growling, while he stepped up to Clawdeen. She recognized him as Remus Darkclaw; former apprentice and Beta to Fenris Silvermane. She could feel his power radiating off him; the rumors of his power were not exaggerations!

"Remus Darkclaw", she bowed respectfully, while keeping a wary eye on him and the others. She could feel the tension from her siblings and friends as they stood ready, facing the growling werewolves. She was glad that they were waiting her word or provocation from them. "You honor us by coming to meet and escort us to the temple."

Growling, Remus looked into her eyes and pressed the full power of his will into her; to force her into submission….to force her to be his mate. He **knew** he was stronger than her… ** _WHAT?!_** It's not working! That's **impossible**! She stared right back at him, unflinching! She wasn't a full Alpha yet, so she shouldn't have that kind of strength! He snarled down at her.

Clawdeen felt him press his will on her, to what purpose she didn't know; but there was no way she would back down! She was there for a reason and this hate-mongering mongrel was not going to stop her!

"STOP!"

Everyone looked behind Remus and saw Fenris Silvermane, along with several other Elders of similar appearance.

"Clear a path for our visitors", Fenris said firmly. "Now."

Remus' followers backed down from the Alpha and withdrew. Remus, however, growled as he glared at him.

"I will not let them through, Fenris!", he growled. "I will not let you, an aging fool, destroy us with your weakness!"

"Your passion is to be admired, Remus", Fenris said amiably. "But I have warned you before not to mistake my old age for weakness, nor your youth for strength. Now I ask again: will you clear the way for our visitors?"

"No", remus continued to glare at Fenris as he defied him, not noticing the flock of ravens that took wing in a swirling, dizzying display of aerobatics; until they flocked around him in a flurrying pass, causing him to fall in the mud. Clawdeen's group and many of the Elders with Fenris chuckled as Remus got up growling and stalked toward the Temple.

"One day your tricks will not be enough to save you", Remus snarled softly to Fenris.

"I am sorry it had to be this way, Remus", Fenris said sadly, remembering a time when Remus was his apprentice and friend, his most trusted Beta. Until he allowed his hate to corrupt his spirit.

"That coulda gotten messy", Clawdeen said to Fenris. "Thanks for stepping in there. I really did **not** want us getting into a brawl on such hallowed ground."

"You are welcome", Fenris smiled warmly. "But it is I who thank you for coming at last. Follow me."

They entered the Temple of the Moon, and all of them were impressed by its beauty. Fenris gave them a short tour, which culminated in the open-sky courtyard in the center.

"This is where the ceremony will take place tonight", Fenris said.

"So the Alpha **did** get here after all", Clawdeen breathed in relief. "I was afraid I'd failed you. I never did find the Alpha on this quest you sent me on."

"But you **did** find the Alpha", he smiled. "And you succeeded in bringing the Alpha here in time."

"Say what?", she asked, totally confused. "I don't understand."

"Don't you?", Fenris smiled warmly, looking intently into her eyes, as if gently prodding her mind. She began to think and remember:

He had chosen **her** to lead this quest, and she chose those she **knew** would stand by her and could help her the most.

She put the importance of the quest first over confrontation, but was willing to fight when there was no choice, and fought wisely when she did so.

When she wasn't sure how to handle a situation, she asked advice from those she trusted; even if it meant letting someone more capable to briefly take the lead.

The occasional surges in her strength and powers that she couldn't understand, but happened when she needed them most.

Even when things seemed hopeless, she never gave up, she saw the quest through to the end.

 _"Have faith and trust in yourself, and make the journey"_ , Maru had told her.

 _"The only werewolf leader I've seen around here lately is_ _ **you**_ _"_ , the gargoyle said when she had asked if he had seen an Alpha werewolf.

Clawdeen's eyes began to widen as realization sank in, and Fenris' smile grew along with her eyes.

"Th-the Alpha Moon", Clawdeen stammered. "It ch-chose…."

"Yes, Clawdeen Wolf", Fenris confirmed. " ** _You_** were chosen as the most worthy to be the next Alpha, and lead our people into the future of this new world."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Now she knows! This chapter was heavily influenced by scenes in the movie "Balto II: Wolf Quest" and both songs are from that same movie. The next chapter will also have the same movie influence and another song from that movie. The next chapter will also conclude Clawdeen's destiny arc!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are welcome, as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	32. Chapter 31: The New Alpha

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter will conclude Clawdeen's Destiny story arc. There will also be a gathering of the Monster Council of Royals!And just to clarify, the Temple of the Moon was built around a standing-stone structure very similar to Stonehenge in England. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 31: The New Alpha

"Me?!", Clawdeen breathed as they entered Fenris' private chambers.

Clawdeen was still shocked. The same night she first shared her body with Duncan, the Alpha Moon had chosen her to be the new Alpha!

"Why?", she asked. "What's so special about me?"

"*chuckle*Our Mother the Moon chose wisely", Fenris said. "You have demonstrated all the best qualities needed in a good leader: patience, wisdom, intelligence, compassion, courage, and determination. You are also a child of this new age of unity and change and embrace it as such(he indicated Clawd and Draculaura). We will speak more on this later. First (he smiled), I believe there are those who are eager to see you."

"Clawdeen!", a voice called from the adjoining room behind Fenris.

"Mom?! Dad?!", Clawdeen was surprised as her parents ran up and enveloped her in a hug, which Clawd and Howleen joined a moment later.

"We're so proud of you, dear!", Harriet smiled, tears in her eyes

"My Daughter; the new Alpha of all werewolves", Clawson said, his heart swelled with pride and love for his daughter.

Just then, a series of howls rang through the air.

"Come", Fenris said. "I must present you to the gathered Elders and packs. And please", he said to the non-wolves in the group, "you are welcome to join us."

He led the way back to the open heart of the Temple, where the ceremony would be held in a few hours at midnight, when the Moon would be directly over the Moonstone. They stood near the alter, as Fenris went up and turned to address the assembled werewolves and guests.

"Brothers and Sisters, my time as your Alpha ends tonight. The Great Mother of us All has chosen my successor." He extended his hand; Clawdeen swallowed the lump in her throat and steps up beside him, trying to look calm and determined.

"The Great Mother has shown me her courage, intelligence, strength, and compassion. More importantly, she has the vision to guide and lead our people into the future of this new age; vision we will need to survive and thrive in this world."

"The foolish dreams of a weak, old wolf and a stupid, naïve child!", Remus snarled, as he stepped forward and addressed the gathering. "Now is a time that our people need leadership of **strength**! It is either by mistake or deception that a **child** with no life-experience could be chosen as our new Alpha….Let alone one who consorts with **vampires** …our immortal enemies!"

There were murmers among the gathered wolves, as Draculaura hugged closer to Clawd, who embraced her protectively. Far in the back of the gathering, among the Royals who could attend, Elizzabat tensed.

"How dare you question the wisdom of the Great Mother!", one Elder growled.

"Yes, and Fenris has always led us with strength and wisdom!", snarled another.

"STOP!", Fenris yelled, silencing the crowd. "Let him speak. It is his right."

"Fenris made peace with the vampires when we should have finished them off!", Remus growled. "Wiped them from the face of the Earth! And what did that 'peace' get us? A Vampire Nation stronger than ever and more than a century of their arrogant, superior attitudes and oppression where ever they could press it!"

Remus' followers and supporters growled in agreement, while others questioned his words.

"But the wars with the vampires lasted centuries without clear victory for either side", another Elder pointed out. "How would this time be any different?"

"Simple", Remus grinned. "We make more of our kind by biting humans."

"Defy the law against turning?", a female Elder gasped.

"It isn't right to force that on them", another scoffed.

"In war, there is no 'right'!", a grey werewolf said.

"Yes, there is a 'right'!", Remus growled. " **Our** right to survive! And our survival can **only** be assured by **_exterminating_** the leeches!"

Draculaura hid her face in Clawd's chest, while he growled deep in his throat.

"And when the vampires also start to turn humans to swell their own ranks?", Fenris queried. "Or when the humans retaliate against **all** monsters, what will you do then?"

"That is not our concern", Remus stated dismissively.

"Is not the balance of our world the concern of all?", Fenris asked rhetorically. "If the war begins again, and we stoop to such measures in the attempt to gain victory, they will do the same. And eventually the fighting could spill over into the greater monster community, and then the humans. Do not forget; there are still humans who **hunt** monsters in the world, who could easily share their knowledge with the militaries of the human world. Human armies now have sufficient numbers and technology in this modern age to be a true threat to **all** monsters. Re-igniting the war is folly that could lead to endless bloodshed."

This prospect gave all who were gathered there pause.

"The Great Mother has chosen our new Alpha", Fenris continued, placing an encouraging hand on Clawdeen's shoulder. "She has told me through the Moonstone, that Clawdeen Wolf is the best choice due in great part to her beliefs in peace and unity; not only among all monsters, but humans as well. The place she calls home is a town shared by monsters and humans alike; including many werewolves and vampires."

"Hah! Our wise leader", Remus scoffed, "who speaks with the Great Mother only when he is alone with the Moonstone, has brought a naïve child raised in a naïve place-which is doomed to fail- to lead us!"

This statement earned growls from Clawdeen and all her family, and rude laughter from Remus' supporters. Clawdeen took a step forward.

"I say Remus is **afraid** of this new age, and the possibility of monster unity", she said in a clear voice, and the crowd gasped at this insult to the courage of so powerful a wolf.

" **I am not afraid!** ", he snarled. "Lasting peace with vampires is **_impossible!_** Generations of history and wars have shown this to be true! Sooner or later, they will drop all pretenses and attack us at our most vulnerable! We need a **warrior** Alpha to lead our kind, not a mere child! I, Remus Darkclaw, say that Fenris must step down, and let a true leader take his place."

"I **will** step down, Remus", Fenris said firmly, "when a **_true_** leader takes my place."

Snarling, Remus lunged at him, passing through the mist that had suddenly surrounded his target. And Fenris was no longer there.

"Show yourself, Fenris", he growled. "Your magic tricks will not stop me."

Nothing. Remus growled again.

"I will be a leader who does not depend of **foolish dreams!** ", he announced as he began to stalk away. "Those who will, follow me!"

His own pack, several new followers, and a few Elder supporters followed him out of the gathering. The murmering crowd also withdrew a few moments later. They would all reconvene shortly before midnight for the ceremony.

Once everyone but Clawdeen and her friends and family were gone, Fenris seemed materialize, stepping out of one of the standing stones almost like a ghost.

"Whoooaaa….How'd you do that?", Clawdeen asked.

"I simply became one with the stone", he replied matter-of-factly.

"If I tried that, I'd get bruises", Clawd said.

"Same here", Duncan snickered.

"Will you teach me?", Clawdeen asked.

"It is not something that can be taught", he told her. "One just knows. Walk with me. You must have many questions. The others will be fine here."

She looked back at them. They all nodded or waved for her to go, and Duncan stepped up quickly and gave her a kiss.

"I'll keep them safe", he whispered. She nodded in thanks then turned to walk beside the old Alpha.

"He loves you very much", Fenris stated after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, he does", she smiled a bit dreamily. "And I love him with all my heart.*giggle* How we met is a funny story."

"Yes", Fenris laughed. "The Great Mother showed me in the Moonstone. But, please, I know you have questions." She nodded.

"How can I be Alpha when I'm still in school? And what about my life back home?"

"My time as Alpha is over", he began. "However, until my spirit returns to the Great Mother, I will act as your mentor; just as **my** predecessor did for me. You can return home and finish school. I will keep in contact with you via a crystal mirror; all members of the Monster Council of Royals and their advisors have them to communicate if needed between meetings. I can also act as your proxy in common matters that do not demand your personal attention."

"What about my own dreams for my future?", she asked. "I've always wanted to become a big-time fashion designer with my talent, along with my friends Jin and Skelita."

"It is good to have dreams", he smiled. "And to have the talent to make those dreams reality is a gift not to be wasted. And yours is a worthy goal if it makes you happy. You **can** be Alpha and still live your dream, just as your friend Elizzabat has."

Clawdeen almost face-palmed. Elizzabat was Queen of the vampires **and** a big Hauntlywood boovie star. If her friend could do it, so could she! And this was important. It was bigger than her, her family, and her dreams. Her people needed her.

As they were talking, they had walked through the Temple, and were now on a balcony-like ledge overlooking the river-valley below. Clawdeen caught her breath when she took in the view. In the distance, she could see where the river met the sea. Fenris looked up into the night sky.

"A star dies, and another is born", he said. "All is a great dance of balance. You have one more question, don't you?"

"Why is Remus so bent against peace?", she asked. "What is he afraid of?"

"Remus is not a coward", he replied sadly. "He is not afraid to die, but he is afraid of change. He cannot believe it is truly for the better. He is consumed by hate, because his whole family was killed by vampires in the last war when he was only a boy. His hate and desire for vengeance has twisted his soul beyond hope and fueled his singleminded quest for power. He sees himself as the heroic general of his own epic tale of destroying the Vampire Nation for the 'good' of all werewolves. He simply cannot accept that peaceful co-existence and unity with all is best for our people. He would rather die than stray from his chosen path."

xxXXxx

Author's note: this song, "Grand Design" is from the movie "Balto II: Wolf Quest" and I have made only minor changes. And just to clarify; Remus and his followers are gathered in another part of the temple. Here is a 'key' to keep track of the song:

 **Fenris,** (Fenris' chorus), **(Fenris +chorus)**

 ** _Remus,_** _(Remus' chorus),_ _ **(Remus +chorus)**_

xxXXxx

 **This world through which we wander…**

 **Is wonderful and strange**

 **The only Truth we can really know…**

 **Is that everything will change**

(Like the rain that fills the ocean)

(Like the storm that shakes the pine)

 **(We are all a part of the Grand Design)**

 ** _This has been our way forever!_**

 ** _This is how the clan stays strong_**

 _(We were born beneath the shining Moon,)_

 _(and we fill the night with song)_

 ** _(We must fight for what belongs to us)_**

 ** _(What is yours and what is mine)_**

 ** _We are all the masters of our own design_**

(The land no more belongs to us,)

(than the eagle owns the sky)

 _(We must fight for our survival,)_

 _(if we don't we'll surely die)_ [wolves howling]

 **We are one with what surrounds us,**

 **Brothers to all we see**

(heya-heya-heya)

(heya-heya-heya)

 ** _We are wolves! We take what we need!_**

 ** _To stay alive and free_** [wolves howling]

(The one thing we will surely learn)

(as we walk the path of time)

(No one can ever rise above…)

 ** _We are wolves the masters of…!_**

 **(We are all a part of the Grand Design)**

(heya-heya-heya)

(heya-heya-heya)

(heya-heya-heya)

(heya-heya-heya) [wind starts howling softly, as vocals begin fading]

(heya-heya-heya)

(heya-heya-heya)

(heya-heya-heya)

"Come", Fenris turns. "We have preparations to make."

Back in the temple, they returned to Fenris private quarters. Harriet took Clawdeen aside, along with a female Elder and another assistant. They gave her a ceremonial bath, then helped her dress in the robes of an Alpha. Harriet had tears of joy and pride in her eyes as they finished. They stepped back out into the main room, to the appreciative gasps of the others. Duncan stood and stepped over to her, looking into eyes.

"You look beautiful", he said in a hushed tone.

"Thanks, Hot-Stuff", she blushed, the twirled in the robes. "For an old-school style, I really like this look on me."

He smiled, then embraced and kissed her deeply. Fenris and the others smiled knowingly.

"The robes become you, Alpha Clawdeen", Fenris smiled. "But we must go. They will all have gathered again by now."

The proceeded back out to the open heart of the temple. Fenris was correct; all the Elders, visitng packs, and (unseen by all, waiting in the shadows of the periphery) most of the visiting Royals had gathered again. The gathered werewolves bowed their heads as Fenris and the new Alpha walked by them on the way to the stone circle around the Moonstone.

" **STOP!** ", Remus' voice roared from behind them. All turned to see Remus leading his pack and followers to confront Fenris and Clawdeen.

"Remus!", Fenris growled in warning. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I challenge this new Alpha's right to lead us to trial by combat!", Remus smirked.

"How dare you, Remus!", Fenris spat. "To make such a challenge **before** she has received her full powers is unheard of!"

"By our law, an Alpha can be challenged at **any** time, Fenris!", he grinned maliciously. "You know that! I am within my rights! She **must** accept, or step down."

"Can he do that?", Clawdeen asked Fenris nervously, as she glared defiantly at Remus.

"He can, but shouldn't before you are a full Alpha", Fenris confirmed. "But he is right; it **is** within his rights. If you refuse, you will lose your place as Alpha to him. You must fight….or choose a champion from among your pack."

Clawdeen swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew she was no match for Remus, at least not until she was a full Alpha. She looked to the only members of her pack that were present. She didn't even consider Howleen or their mom; either of them would be slaughtered before they could take a breath. Clawd had bravado, strength, and athletic prowess but was simply outclassed. Their dad was the strongest, being the Alpha of the New Salem Pack, but Remus was just too powerful. She could see they were thinking the same, but each looked prepared to step up, but she shook her head. No way was she going to sacrifice her dad or brother.

Duncan saw Clawd and Clawson both about to step forward, when he remembered:

 _'The Champion; you will know when to step forward and your fire will light the darkest hour'_

Duncan stepped in front of them and nodded sharply to Clawdeen.

"I choose Duncan", she grinned after a moment's hesitation. This sent a wave of murmers through the crowd.

"The dragon?!", Remus snarled. "He's not one of us! She **must** choose from her own pack or fight for herself!"

"She **has** chosen from her pack, Remus", Fenris grinned. "He is her **_life-mate_** ; bonded under the light of the Alpha Moon!"

 ** _"WHAT?!",_** Remus snarled. So **that's** why he couldn't force a bond with her! **She already had a** **mate!**

Clawson and Harriet experienced some rather extreme mixed emotions at this revelation; confusion, anger, relief and concern. They decided to work it out later. Duncan, Clawdeen, and the others were also shocked to hear this. Then Duncan and Clawdeen remembered what Clawson told him. Strangely, they were ok with it, even young as they were. They looked into each other's eyes and smiled as they nodded, silently agreeing to talk about it later.

Remus snarled as the gathered crowd formed a wide circle. He removed his Council robes to reveal a red sleeveless gi with black trim and steel bracers on his forearms. The pants ended at his knees, and his bushy tail swished behind him as he entered the ring. At six-foot-six, he was well muscled and fast. He had fought a few dragons before; they were tough opponents, but he had beaten and killed them. He was confident he could defeat this boy.

Duncan removed his sandals, jacket and shirt. His black cargo pants were loose enough to give him sufficient freedom of movement to fight effectively. He'd never fought a werewolf before, but he could sense Remus was far stronger than any that he had met before. He had seen Clawdeen and her siblings in fights, but Remus had over a century of experience over them, so he had to be careful not to underestimate him. He transformed, bringing out his full kaiju aspect, then stretched and flexed, cracking various joints to limber up. Clawdeen kissed him for luck, and he stepped into the circle.

Remus glared at Duncan, trying to stare him down. Duncan glared back, unflinching, as he took the Dragon-style stance Jinafire had taught him.

"I'm going to make you regret interfering, dragon-boy", Remus sneered, flexing his claws. "You're not the first dragon I've fought and killed. I'm going to rip your throat out in front of her so she can see your eyes go dark, just before I kill **her** for good measure!"

"You have ** _no idea_** what you're up against", Duncan growled, his smugness over Remus thinking he was a dragon being overshadowed by his rage at the threat to his love. "You will **never** touch her! And threatening her is the **_biggest_** mistake of your life. Welcome to Thunderdome."

Clawd grinned at the reference. "Two will enter, one will leave", he said softly, for the benefit of those closest to him. Clawdeen smacked him upside his head.

Remus charged, both clawed hands out to his sides, ready to swipe. He was so fast, Duncan almost didn't react in time! He leaped up and took wing, flipped forward, and kicked the wolf in the back. Remus tumbled, rolling with the blow, and came back up ready to fight in one smooth move.

'He's good', Duncan thought to himself as he circled around. He dived at Remus, his fists cocked to double-punch on impact. He expected the werewolf to either duck, dodge, or take the hit. So when he leaped over Duncan when he was close enough, it surprised him; just before Remus raked his claws across Duncan's wings.

"Aaaaaaauuuuugh!", he screamed in intense pain, a sensation he rarely experienced.

"Duncan!", Clawdeen cried, concerned for her mate.

Remus smirked maliciously, licking blood from his claws.

"First blood to you, Remus", Duncan growled through grit teeth as he withdrew his wings back into his body, easing the pain somewhat. He was reasonably sure they would heal quicker that way. If nothing else, this proved that his wings were a liability in this fight.

Remus charged again, and Duncan stood his ground this time. They had a fierce exchange of blows and blocks, until Duncan saw an opening and punched Remus in the chest; sending him staggering back, clutching his chest.

'Damn! This boy is **strong!** ', Remus thought. 'And skilled for one so young!'

Duncan closed on him, only for the werewolf to fire a lightning-fast round-house kick at him. Duncan stopped short and bent back to avoid the full force, but Remus' toe-claws raked across his abs. His scales saved him from being gutted, but the claws still drew blood; which healed almost instantly.

Remus began to realize Duncan's armor was stronger than the other dragons he'd fought before, and he healed remarkably fast!

Changing tactics, Duncan jumped back and fired three fire-balls at the wolf. Remus blocked them with his metal bracers. Duncan followed up with a stream of fire at the ground in front of his opponent. Momentarily blinded, Remus was surprised when Duncan dove **through** the flames to tackle him.

Now grappling, they slashed each other with their claws repeatedly, until Remus got a firm grip and slammed Duncan to the ground and stomped on him, holding him down with his foot; smirking down at him. Duncan grabbed the wolf's foot, then swept his own leg up and around to kick him in the chest, staggering him. The kaiju prince then rolled to his feet and grabbed Remus' tail with both hands, causing him to yelp in surprise.

Duncan began to spin Remus around by his tail, faster and faster with each rotation, until he released him and Remus went flying into one of the standing stones. The werewolf slid to the ground, almost cartoon-like. He stood back up slowly, a bit disoriented.

Duncan took the chance to catch his breathe. This fight was taking a toll. So far, he'd managed to avoid the werewolf's fangs. He realized that if Remus' claws could cut his armor, no matter how lightly, then his fangs could probably fully penetrate. Granted, the kaijus he had fought in the past were **vastly** more powerful than Remus; it was different fighting them, he could use his smaller size to his advantage. Remus was the most powerful opponent 'his own size' that he'd ever fought.

Remus snarled once he recovered. It was inconceivable that this boy was not only still standing, but glaring defiantly at him, ready for more! It was time to end this! He charged. And Duncan answered with a charge of his own. Those closest would forever claim they felt the shockwave as they slammed together. They were engaged in what pro-wrestlers would call a 'test of strength', their clawed hands gripped with their opposites, as they snarled and growled at each other. Being at least six inches taller than the boy, Remus thought he should have the advantage. He didn't. Remus felt Duncan's superior strength forcing him down. In desperate anger, he lashed out, trying to bite Duncan's face.

Duncan desperately bobbed and weaved his head around to avoid the snapping snout full of sharp fangs, equalizing the struggle again.

 _'Be unpredictable'_ , Jinafire had told him. _'do what your opponent least expects, and turn their advantage against them.'_

Duncan swung his head around below Remus snapping jaws, then thrust upward; slamming the back of his skull up into the werewolf's jaws. Remus yelped in pain, momentarily stunned. That was all Duncan needed.

Duncan exhaled a stream of fire, blasting Remus in the face and chest. The wolf howled in pain, and released his grip. Duncan threw a right-handed, nearly full strength uppercut to Remus' jaw, sending him flying. He flipped end-over-end twice and slammed into the same stone again. But this time, when he slumped to the ground…he stayed there. Duncan had won.

A member of Remus' pack ran up to him.

"He's alive!", he said to his pack. "Come help me!"

The pack went to their leader and carried him away to treat his wounds.

Once they were gone, Duncan began to sway on his feet. Clawdeen and Clawd ran to him, steadying him as he walked back to where he had been when this all started.

"You ok, Sweetie?", she asked.

"Yeah", he smiled tiredly. "But I'm gonna feel that in the morning."

"Alpha Clawdeen", Fenris said gently. "It is time."

She looked up, the Moon was almost in position, but she looked to Duncan in concern.

"Go", he told her, giving her a quick kiss. "I'll be fine."

She nodded, and went to Fenris.

"Go to the Moonstone and kneel as you would to an Alpha and repeat what I told you earlier", he told her. "We do this because even an Alpha is submissive to the Great Mother of us All."

Clawdeen took a deep breath and let it out. She walked up to the Moonstone and kneeled as she was told.

"Great Mother", she called out to the heavens, "I live to serve you and our people!"

A bright beam of moonlight came down and struck the Moonstone, which began to glow. The combined light bathed Clawdeen and she gasped. The **raw** **_power_**! She could smell each individual in the temple, hear their heartbeats, and the night became as clear as high-definition day in her eyes! And her strength! She howled with elated joy!

Duncan watched with a mixture of awe and concern for Clawdeen. She took on the more wolfen, snouted appearance of many of the Elders but keeping her long luscious locks, and grew a bushy tail in the moon-glow. As the moon moved out of position, the glow dimmed, and Clawdeen's appearance returned to normal. She stood and turned.

"Alpha Clawdeen Wolf", Fenris announced with a smile, and was the first to kneel in submission. All the gathered werewolves followed suit, and chanted, "Alpha."

Clawdeen walked up to Fenris, and gently stroked his throat with the back of her hand.

"Rise", she said warmly. "All of you."

xxXXxx

Clawdeen, along with her friends and family followed Fenris back into the hallways of the temple after dismissing the Elders and visiting packs.

"Clawdeen", Clawson said in a firm fatherly tone. "we thought you were sleeping over at Draculaura's the night of the Alpha Moon?"

"Uuuh….yeah", she said sheepishly, as the vampire and Duncan smiled nervously. "That was kinda what you were supposed to think. Instead, I surprised Duncan at his campsite."

"So you had no idea?", Clawson looked intently at Duncan, to see the truth in his eyes.

"I honestly did not, Mr. Wolf", he said sheepishly but unflinching.

"It's no use getting upset now, Dear", Harriet said to her husband and mate, while sharing a small smile and wink with the young couple. "They are mated before the Great Mother. And I honestly can't think of a better mate for our daughter."

"Clawdeen!"

The newly crowned Alpha looked to the familiar figure running toward her.

"Cleo?!", she ran to embrace her friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Daddy and I flew Fenris Silvermane and your parents here on our plane the day you left", the mummy ghoul explained. "Daddy had to be here anyway. I'm so happy for you! My friend, the new Alpha of Werewolves!"

"Wait. Your dad is here?"

"Indeed", Ramses De Nile said as he approached. He looked to Fenris. "You haven't told her, old friend?"

"Told me what?", she asked.

"The Monster Council of Royals has gathered to welcome you", Fenris told her. "Do not worry. I will be right beside you."

He guided them to another chamber in a lower level. One end opened out to the cliffside, where Belloc was standing! A large round table dominated the room, and the gathered Royals were not yet seated and were speaking in small groups, and looked up when they entered.

Duncan saw another familiar face.

"Danny!", he called out cheerfully.

"Duncan!", the Ghost King grinned, greeting his friend with a fist-bump and hug. "You scaly misfit! How ya doin'?"

"Not bad, Ecto-face! You?"

"Same old, Same old."

Elizzabat came up to Clawdeen, an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Clawdeen", she said. "Alpha Silvermane explained that you had to find the Alpha in yourself. I hope you can forgive me for deceiving you?"

"Of course", she said gently, placing a hand on the vampire's shoulder and giving her a small smile. "Thank you for your help."

Duncan went to his father.

"You knew, didn't you, Dad?", he asked.

"Yes", Belloc affirmed. "I sensed it the moment I met her. But it was not my place to reveal her destiny."

Duncan nodded in grudging understanding.

"I saw your battle", the Kaiju smirked. "You fought well. I am proud of you for defending your mate."

"Thanks, Dad", he smiled.

"Fellow Royals!", Belloc got the attention of the room. "Places, please, and the meeting will come to order!" He turned to Duncan again. "You may stand with me if you wish, my son. After all, one day it will be you here."

Duncan nodded and stood with his father.

Clawdeen took a seat across from Danny Phantom, the new Ghost King, who smiled at her pleasantly as the others took their seats. Ryu-Chi, the Dragon Emperor. Pharaoh Ramses De Nile. The Monkey King. The Rat King. Elizzabat, the Vampire Queen. Granita, Empress of Subterra. Minos, Prime Monistor of the Dread-iteranean was also in attendance.

"First, let us welcome our newest Council member; Clawdeen Wolf, Alpha of Werewolves", Belloc stated graciously. She thanked them for the various nods and words of welcome. Fenris stood beside her, as he promised, should she need his help.

"Now, first up", Rat King said, taking a paper from his daughter, Mouscedes, by his side. "Our friend, the elected leader of the monsters of the Dread-iteranean, has come to us with an urgent matter. Prime Monistor?"

"*ahem*Yes", Minos; a minotaur said humbly. "I thank the Council of Royals for seeing me. Several weeks ago, our most prestigious museum was broken into and several artifacts were stolen. We have been unable to recover the artifacts as yet, and Stheno has reached out to her sister in Scare-merica. Medusa in turn has enlisted the aid of a friend to investigate further."

"Indeed", Belloc rumbled. "It was my mate she reached out to. She has called in a favor with MEGTAF to help investigate."

Minos nodded in thanks. "Yes, my thanks. Time is of the essence due to the nature of the artifacts that were stolen."

"Ook-ook! What was stolen?", Monkey King asked.

Minos took a deep breath and let it out. "Weapons that were used by legendary monster slayers."

Everyone tensed at that announcement, tension which only increased as he listed specifics.

"Excuse me, Prime Monistor?", Clawdeen interjected carefully. "Were any werewolves involved in your investigation? Our senses would have been helpful?"

"Actually, Alpha Clawdeen, we did not", he said. "Your people are not common in our region."

"Fenris, could we send a few volunteers to help?", she asked her mentor.

"I believe so, Alpha", he replied, then turned to the minotaur. "Please speak with me afterward and I will get the right wolves to help you. If there are any clues left at the scene, they will find them."

"Again, you have my thanks", Minos bowed his head gratefully.

"Next", Ramses said, standing. "I wish to extend my heartfelt royal apologies to our esteemed Kaiju King, Belloc; and his Highness Prince Duncan for the actions of my elder daughter, Nefera, and offer restitution."

Belloc and Duncan both growled softly. Angry as they were for the incident and the actions instigating it, they respected Ramses for making a public apology. Belloc looked to his son and nodded. Duncan returned the nod and looked back at the mummy.

"Punish her in any manner you deem appropriate and keep her away from me, and I will consider the matter closed."

"Very well, Prince Duncan."

"Finally", Rat King said, "Belloc? You wished to inform the rest of us concerning your recent activities?"

"Yes", the kaiju's beep voice rumbled. "All but one of those that attacked my son's former home have been found and….dealt with. Only Abbadon remains free. However, it appears that there are more rogues than I knew, including several sea-kaiju, and they have gone into hiding. Where they are, what they are planning, and who is leading them is still a mystery. All of your kingdoms and subjects should be warned to keep vigilant. Should any of these rogues appear, I need to know quickly!"

His fellow Royals agreed and thanked him for the information.

"If there is nothing else….", Rat King started to say, when Elizzabat cleared her throat softly.

"Actually, I have a matter to bring to the Council", she said clearly, as Stefan stepped up beside her and took her hand, intertwining their fingers. "This is Stefan, a normie willing donor. We have fallen in love, and wish to be together forever. He has already relinquished any potential royal claim and desires only to love me forever as my consort. So under Royal Privilege, I ask your permission to turn him?"

The royals conferred briefly, during which Clawdeen told them of her first-hand experience around them during her stay at the Vampire Court. After little debate, all agreed to allow the Vampire Queen her eternal mate. Elizzabat and Stefan hugged each other in joy.

The meeting was then adjourned. Duncan said good bye to his father, who congratulated Clawdeen once again as he left. Monkey King and Ryu-Chi the Dragon Emperor both commented on Duncan's earlier battle. Danny joined the farewell conversation with Elizzabat&Stefan, Duncan, and Clawdeen.

"You did well for your first meeting with your fellow Royals, Alpha Clawdeen", Fenris said encouragingly.

"Thanks", she smirked. "But I'm gonna be leaning pretty heavy on you for help for a while."

"Of course", he smiled. "You can count on me."

Smiling, she turned to her friends and family while melting into Duncan's arms.

"Let's go home", she said.

"Please", Ramses said, "allow me to offer the comfort of my plane to all of you for the trip home, as a Royal favor to you, Alpha Clawdeen?"

"Flyin' home in style?", Clawdeen grinned. " **That** would be totes awesome, your highness!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Ah, wow. *whew!*** ** _That_** **was a long chapter. (ssstrrreeeetch*snap*crackle*pop!*) I hope you all enjoyed it!**

 **xxXXxx**


	33. Chapter 32

**_Hey, Everyone! We are back to abnormal at Monster High! My OC, DJ Troniquez, joins the regular cast this chapter. He is inspired by my friend and fellow writer DJ Rodriguez, and used with his permission. The Danny/Dani = father/daughter concept is inspired by 'One of the Ghouls', a ScoobyxDanny crossover story from beccalovesbumblebee. ENJOY!_**

Chapter 32

The first days back from the Mountains of the Moon were eventful, but relatively calm. The guys and ghouls gave Spectra an exclusive on all the events of their trip for her blog, so now the whole school knew. There was a bit of an awkward moment when all the werewolves of the school kneeled to her at once. She calmly told them all that while they were at school, she was their classmate, not the Alpha; so things went back to abnormal.

Kenny and Margaret were happy to see Duncan come home. They too, had mixed reactions to the revelation that he and Clawdeen were now bonded for life as mates. Kenny was totally cool and very happy for the couple. Margaret, on the other hand, was concerned due to their youth. She invited Clawden and her family over for dinner to discuss it. In the end, all the parents accepted the situation on the condition that they wait until they're older to actually marry legally and have children. For their part, the young couple was fine with that. Kenny jokingly added the condition that he be best-man.

Clawd, Duncan, Robecca, and Abby quickly got back into SKRM practice. Fortunately, the week they were gone Monster High did not have a race on the schedule, and their next game was against the zombies of Graveyard Prep; so it would be an easy win.

Wednesday morning, the Headmistress was in her office. She was expecting a very special visitor before classes started that day; and she was not disappointed. A ghost portal opened and a few moments later, Danny Phantom floated out of it accompanied by a young girl bearing a striking resemblance to him: same glowing green eyes, same snow-white hair but with the addition of a pony-tail, even a similar black and white outfit, topped off with a black & white back-pack.

"Good morning, Headmistress Bloodgood", he smiled politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"King Phantom", Grace bowed slightly. "You honor me and my school."

"Please", he said humbly, "there's no need to be so formal with me. I may be king, but I'm young enough to be one of your students. Speaking of…." He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled warmly, "This is Danielle, your new student and teacher of 'Ghostly Powers 101'." She waved shyly.

"Hi."

"Hello, Danielle", Grace said warmly. "Welcome to Monster High. I'm Ms. Bloodgood, the Headmistress. I hope you will enjoy attending classes here. I have also arranged a comfortable dorm room for you in my home and your roommate is my own daughter; Robecca Steam. Several other exchange students also stay with me, and I am sure they will welcome you. Once you are more comfortable here at school, I will arrange for the specialized class for you to teach all of Monster High's other ghost students."

"Thank you", Dani said with a shy smile. "You're very nice."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Enter", Grace called out, knowing who it was. Spectra phased through the door.

"You called for me Ms. Bloodgood?", she asked, and then froze as she recognised Danny.

"King Phantom?!", she was incredulous, and fumbled for her iCoffin nervously.

"Whoa! Easy there!", he said, reaching out to steady her hands. "Just relax. I'm just an easy-going teen like you."

"Spectra, I called you here for a special reason", Grace told her, and walked over to Dani. "This is Danielle. She just transferred here. I want her to shadow you this week until she gets her bearings. This is a special request from King Phantom here."

"You can count on me, Ms. Bloodgood, King Phantom!", the ghost assured them.

"Ok, Dani", Danny said to her with a hug. "Most of your clothes and stuff will be delivered to your dorm this afternoon. I'll visit as often as I can, and bring you home for breaks and holidays. Be good. Shift to normal often to conserve your ecto-energy. Oh! BTW, you'll probably run into an old friend here."

"Who?", she asked, as she shifted to 'normal': blue eyes, black hair, red cargo shorts, blue sneekers, blue hoodie and red beanie.

"You'll see", he grinned and gave her a final hug and kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Dani."

"Love you, too, Dad,", she smiled.

"The bell will ring soon", Spectra said. "Would you like to meet some of my friends before class starts?"

"Sure", Dani said, nervous but game. They phased through the door.

"I can't thank you enough for this", Danny said to Grace.

"Not at all", she smiled. "This is what Monster High is all about."

Just then there was a beeping sound. Danny was wearing a black leather biker-style waist-jacket with white trim over his normal DP haz-mat suit. He lifted the right lapel where an ecto-green pin was.

"This is Danny."

"Danny!", Sam's voice came through. "We just got an urgent message from Walker!"

Not good. Walker was the warden of the Ghost World's most secure prison. Only the most powerful and dangerous ghost villains were held there.

"Excuse me for a moment", he said politely to Grace. Then he asked, "What happened?"

"Vlad's escaped!"

"WHAT?!",Danny tensed in shock and anger. "How?!"

"Walker's not sure", Danny's sister Jazz interjected. "But he had to have outside help. His cell was designed specifically to hold him. Walker said that it looked like a giant smashed the walls of the cell-block."

"How long ago did he escape", Danny asked.

"That's the worst part!", Tucker chimed in. "Three whole weeks ago!"

"Why wasn't I told sooner?!", Danny yelled.

"Pride", Sam said deadpan. "Walker was sure he and his guards could find and recapture him without your help. Then he hired Skulker to help hunt Vlad down. Finally, now that everything failed to even find Vlad, Walker is telling us."

"All right, I'm on my way", he sighed. "Over and out."

"That sounds serious", Grace said.

"You don't know the half of it", Danny told her. "Vlad Plazmius is evil to the core. He created Dani from a sample of my DNA, and almost destroyed her in an effort to create the perfect clone of me. To this day, she's terrified of him, despite helping to take him down. I have to tell her he's loose, but not until tonight. I don't want to ruin her first day here. Please take good care of her. She's like a daughter to me."

"You have my word, Your Majesty", Grace promised. Danny smiled then re-opened and entered the ghost portal.

xxXXxx

"Welcome to Monster High, Danielle", Spectra said sweetly. "I'm sure you'll like it here. There are many other ghosts and phantoms that attend as well. There's even a banshee, her name is Scarah Screams."

"That's cool", Dani said. "And please call me Dani."

"Sure", Spectra said. "You seem a bit young for high school, if you don't mind me saying."

"I skipped a few grades", she blushed. "In fact, one of the reasons I transferred was to also teach you and the other ghost students new powers and improve the ones you have."

"Really?", Spectra said. "Wow! That would be great! Can I interview you for my blog?"

"You have a blog?"

"Yup!", she said, opening her laptop to show Dani. "It's called the 'Ghostly Gossip'! I'll give you the link if you want to subscribe."

"Thanks, sounds cool."

They reached the school entrance and went outside.

"There are some of my friends now, over by the fountain", Spectra indicated.

"OMG! Is that?!", Dani asked, then went ghost and zipped forward.

"My wings are fine now", Duncan was telling everyone. "But when it happened, it was the **worst** pain I ever…."

"DUNCAN!"

He turned to see who called him, only for a small black & white blur to slam into him with a hug. He almost dropped his latte.

"Dani?!", he said in surprise.

"It **is** you!", the little half-ghost said, happy to see a familiar face. "So **you're** the old friend Dad said I would run into! So good to see you!"

"It's good to see you, too", Duncan smiled. "But what are you doin' here?"

The others were all watching the scene unfold before them, including Spectra when she arrived.

"I just got transferred and enrolled! I go here now! This is my first day!", Dani said.

"Cool", he smiled. "These are my friends. Looks like you already know Spectra."

Duncan introduced her to all his friends who were at the fountain and finally….

"And this beautiful wolf is Clawdeen", he smiled lovingly, wrapping an arm around her. "My ghoulfriend."

"Really?", Dani said teasingly. "It's good to see you happy again. But you got your work cut out for you keeping this guy in line, Clawdeen!"

"Hey!", he smirked.

"Yeah, I know, Dani", Clawdeen smiled. "But I guess he's worth it."

"Hey!", he poked her in a ticklish spot. "Whose side are you on?"

All the ghouls took to Dani like big sisters, and the guys all found her adorable. Everyone found it interesting that she was a female clone of the Ghost King created by his arch-enemy. After he saved her, she started seeing him as a father-figure, and he began to care for her as if she really were his daughter. As such, she kinda saw Duncan and Danny's friend Tucker like uncles.

"Meow. Since when does the school have a daycare center?", Toralei asked sarcastically when she walked up with the twins in tow. "Who's the munchin you're babysitting, Duncan?"

"Back off, Toralei", he growled. "Dani is like a member of the family, and our new schoolmate."

"You've gotta be kidding!", she laughed, joined by the twins. "I bet she still has to stick to the kiddie rides at the scarnival!"

"Hey! I may be young", Dani said firmly, glaring at the werecats, "but I bet I get better grades than you!"

"Watch it, small fry!", Toralei snarled. "Cats _scratch_!"

"Claws off!", Clawdeen growled, as she and the ghouls surrounded Dani protectively. "You mess with **her** , you mess with **us** , Toralei!"

"Thanks, girls", Dani smirked. "But I can take care of myself."

Just then she leaped **inside** Toralei, who staggered for a moment. Then she turned to the twins, grabbed them by their hair, and slammed all three werecats' heads together in a feline yowl of pain. Dani jumped back out as they fell, rubbing their heads as bumps began to form.

"That oughta teach you hairballs to mess with me!", Dani snickered.

"Whoa!", Clawdeen smirked. "Little ghoul's tougher than she looks! You're gonna fit in just fine here."

"That was amazing!", Spectra said. "How'd you do that?"

"I 'overshadowed' her", Dani smiled. "Just one of the many things I'll be teaching you and the other ghosts when my class gets set-up."

"Seems like possession to me", Cleo sniffed.

"Nah, it's a little different", Dani explained. "Overshadowing is temporary and can be rejected by strong enough will. Possession is more permanent and requires exorcism to reverse. It also tends to be favored more often by demons than ghosts."

Just then the first bell rang, and all the students went inside.

xxXXxx

"Graurgh!", Remus woke with a start, as if he thought he was still fighting. Then he noticed the bandages around his chest and covering half his face.

"Take it easy, milord", the healer werewolf said gently. "You've been unconscious for days. I've treated all your wounds as best I can."

" **Days?** Then that means…..GRRRRAAAAAAUUUURRRGH!" He had lost the battle! And by now that child had received the full powers of an Alpha and was likely back home! The healer ran from the room in fear.

" ** _How_** could I have lost to a teen-age dragon?!", he snarled.

"Because that boy was no mere dragon", chuckled a female voice from the shadows.

"Who's there?!", Remus snarled. Revolta stepped into the light.

"Remus Darkclaw", she said, bowing her head slightly, "I am Revolta, the Witch of the Web. Your opponent, the mate of the new Alpha; was the half-human son of **Belloc** , King of the Kaiju! You were **literally** out of your league."

" ** _The kaiju prince_**?", Remus seethed, his hate boiling over. It was as if Fate had conspired against him to deny him his rightful destiny!

"Fear not", Revolta smirked. "My collegues and I can offer you a chance for revenge, and another chance to become the Alpha. All you have to do….is **join** us."

Remus growled loudly as he glared at the witch, considering her words.

"Very well", he snarled softly. "I'd make a deal with the devil prince of vampires himself to get what I want!"

Revolta laughed at the irony.

xxXXxx

Duncan pulled into the garage at home after dropping off Clawdeen. He saw an unfamiliar SUV in the driveway as he parked next to Kenny's Jeep and closed the garage door.

"Mom?", he called out as he entered. "Do we have company?"

"You could say that", she smirked, and Kenny was smiling big as well.

"I still say giant robots could take down kaiju with no problem!", a familiar voice called from the stairs. It couldn't be! He knew that voice!

"And I still say you're overloading your microchips with wishful thinking!", he replied, prompting the other speaker to step out of the stairs and reveal himself.

"You think so, huh?"

"DJ!", Duncan laughed as he embraced his childhood friend. "How ya doin', metalhead?"

"Ha-ha, very funny, scale-face."

"What are you doin' here?", Duncan asked.

"I arranged for DJ to attend Monster High, Duncan", DJ's mom Therasa said, stepping out of the kitchen.

"No kidding?! That's awesome!", Duncan beamed. "Looks like you're moving as smooth as you did before you were hurt now."

"Yeah, I got my cybernetics working like they were always a part of me", DJ smiled. "Took a while, but I'm pretty much back to my old self…just more high tech."

"I never doubted you would, bud."

"My social-life, on the other hand", DJ frowned.

"That's the reason I've enrolled DJ at Monster High, Duncan", Terasa said sadly. "His peers at his old school became very cruel. Even his friends abandoned him or treated him like an outcast."

"I know what that's like", Duncan grumbled.

"Even Lacey", DJ said bitterly. "She dumped me my first day back at school. Said she 'couldn't handle dating a robot'. The same day, she hooked up with a football player."

"Dude, that sucks", Duncan said.

"Ah, don't worry about it", DJ huffed. "If **that's** the kind of bitch she is, then who needs her, right?"

"You said it, bud", Kenny chimed in.

"So, you're moving here?", Duncan asked.

"Sadly, no", Therasa said. "I can't leave my work at MEGTAF, so…."

"So DJ is going to stay with us", Margaret smiled. "We have a spare room, and there's space in the garage for another motorcycle."

"No kidding?!", Duncan yelled, and high-fived DJ. "That's clawesome!"

"Hey, DJ, we still have that monsters and robots fighting video game", Kenny said with a smirk, cracking his knuckles. "Care for a shot at the title?"

"What? No way you beat my high-score!"

All three boys ran upstairs, leaving Margaret and Therasa in the living room.

"I can't thank you enough for all your help, Margaret", Therasa said with genuine gratitude.

"You are more than welcome, Therasa", Margaret told her. "You've been a good friend to us for years, and DJ was a friend to Duncan during a time when no other child would. So it's the least I can do."

xxXXxx

"Thanks for helping me unpack, Robecca", Dani said to the older ghoul.

"No problem, luv", Robecca smiled, handing Dani a stack of shirts for her drawers. "I'm happy to room with you. I don't need a bed and I spend a lot of nights in my Dads' old lab at school, so I won't be in your way much."

"Still", Dani said as she hung some things up in her side of the closet, "you and the other girls—I mean 'ghouls'—are really great. I feel very welcome here. And at school…..I had no idea there were so many hybrid monsters! I thought Vlad, Duncan, my dad, and me were the only halfa's in the world."

"Oh, the monster world is bigger and more mysterious than most people, or even monsters, realize", Robecca told her. "And as Cupid is so fond of saying, 'love knows no bounds'."

"Robecca, may I ask you a personal question?", Dani asked tentatively.

"Sure, luv, what would you like to know?"

"How is Headmistress Bloodgood your mom?"

"I only recently learned the whole truth myself", the mechanical marvel smiled softly. "My Dad, Hexiciah Steam, designed and built me over a century ago. At that time, he and Mum were very much in love. My Dad was a mechanical and scientific genius, but to create life required something more."

Robecca lifted her tank-top and opened her chest access plate to show Dani her inner-workings.

"You see that heart-shaped jewel? That's the Vampire's Heart, a mystical gem of great power. Why my dad had it is another story. When he was forging the metals he built me from, he and his love added some of their own life-blood to it. That, combined with the power of the Vampire's Heart gives me life and makes my artificial nervous system work; so my sense of touch is equal to living skin."

"Wow", Dani said in awe. "And it's so romantic that something from both of them went into you….like real parents."

"Yes", Robecca smiled. "But Dad disappeared shortly after he brought me to life and before he and Mum could marry. But she took me in and loved me anyway. And then…."

"Then what?", Dani asked anxiously.

"That's a story for another time", Robecca grinned. "Let's go downstairs. It's almost time for dinner."

xxXXxx

Duncan and DJ pulled into the student parking lot on their bikes and found two adjoining spaces. DJ's bike had a similar design, but the paint-scheme was cobalt-blue with gold circuitry-pattern.

"I'm tellin' ya, DJ, Kenny and I can help you do a solar-hybrid conversion on your bike", Duncan told him as they removed their helmets. "Your alternative fuel system will run on our fuel, but solar-hybridizing will make it even better for the environment."

"Ok", DJ said. "We'll do it soon as we have the parts."

"Sweet", Duncan grinned. "Let's hit the creepateria, I need my double chocolate coffinccino latte."

"You and your chocolate coffee", DJ said, shaking his head.

"Relax, you can grab an OJ/Mountain Doom cocktail or something", Duncan grinned as they headed to the creepateria. "Besides, there's another, more important reason I come here first thing in the morning. And there she is."

"Mornin', Hot-Stuff", Clawdeen said as she melted into his arms and kissed him deeply.

"Mornin', Sweetie", Duncan replied with a smile after breaking the kiss. "DJ, this is my ghoulfriend, Clawdeen Wolf. Clawdeen, this is DJ Troniquez, my oldest friend."

"Nice ta meetcha", Clawdeen smiled, shaking his hand.

"Same here", DJ smirked. "Duncan's told me so much about you."

"So, DJ", Clawdeen began, as she handed Duncan his latte. "Do you already have your class schedule, or do you need to see the Headmistress?"

DJ almost spilled the Mountain Doom he was filling from the soda fountain, while Duncan laughed.

"How did you know I was a new student?", DJ asked. "And not just visiting?"

"Well, if you don't mind me sayin', all that metal doesn't exactly scream _normie_ ", she said, then grinned. "And Duncan filled me in last night."

"Oh you smart-ass!", DJ laughed, mock punching Duncan, who was also laughing.

"Come on", Duncan said, still laughing a bit. "You can meet more of our friends before the bell."

Out at the fountain, the guys and ghouls were gathering. Cleo and Deuce were there along with Clawd and Draculaura, Thad and Jinx, Lagoona and Gil, Jackson and Claire, Dani, Spectra, Jinafire, Frankie, Ghoulia, Abby, and Skelita.

"Thanks for helping me get settled in at your place, cousin", Thad said to Draculaura. "You too, Clawd."

"Totes", she said, while Clawd nodded. "Daddy said you can stay with us as long as you need."

"I just feel bad that your parents threw you out because of **me** ", Jinx said sadly.

"Well, don't, Babe", Thad said embracing her. "I am **never** giving you up. I have my uncle and cousin. I'm just glad your mom likes me."

"Where are Duncan and Clawdeen?", Dani asked.

"Probably getting their lattes", Clawd smirked. "My sister got him hooked on them. Here they come now."

"And they have a new friend", Frankie said, as they approached.

"Actually", Duncan said, having heard Frankie, "he's my oldest friend. Everyone, this is DJ Troniquez. We've been friends practically since before we could walk. He just enrolled."

"Hi, DJ! I'm Frankie Stein", she said cheerfully. "Welcome to Monster High!"

"So you're the 'DJ' I've heard so much about. I'm Dani!"

The others all introduced themselves and welcomed him.

"Thanks", he said. "It feels good to just be accepted again."

"What kind of monster are you, DJ?", Cleo asked curiously.

"I guess you could say that I'm the first of my kind", he said wistfully. "I'm what you would call a cyborg; I'm part machine."

"Dude, that is clawesome", Deuce said.

"Thanks", DJ snickered slightly. "But getting this way wasn't fun. I had an accident with a Tesla-coil."

"Ouch", Frankie winced. As essential as high voltage was to her own existence, she knew better than most how dangerous it was for others.

"Yeah. But thankfully, my mom is the foremost genius in cybernetics."

"You mean your mom is Dr. Therasa Troniquez? Wow!"

DJ turned to the lovely new voice behind him….and was overwhelmed by the vision of beauty before him.

"Um… w-well….y-yeah, that's my mom", he stammered. She was a living work of art, and her voice was like a beautiful bell with a British accent.

"DJ Troniquez", Duncan said cheerfully, "Meet Robecca Steam."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Two new students, one of whom is also a new teacher for a specialized class! And the other seems to have met the ghoul of his dreams! LOL!**

 **And the Dark Council continues to grow! What's next? Wait and See!**

 **Long Reviews and suggestions are welcome as always!**

 **xxXXxx**


	34. Chapter 33

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter, a new villain arrives in New Salem with a dark purpose, Lilith is almost ready, Dani starts teaching, and DJ & Robecca dance around their feelings! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 33

"Uh…DJ?", Duncan asked, prodding him after a few moments.

"Steam?", DJ asked, coming back to reality. "As in: Hexiciah Steam?"

"You've heard of my dad?", Robecca smiled.

" **Heard** of him?", DJ said incredulously. "He and Nikola Tesla are my heroes! He's your **_dad_**?!"

"Yes. He designed and built me over a century ago", she said. "I had an accident during a game of SKRM which knocked me out of commission for a really long time….until Ghoulia and Frankie revived me last year."

"He built you?", DJ asked, impressed. For fun, DJ often built working models of many of Steam's inventions, and he'd heard rumors that Steam had actually created life. Here was the living proof, and she's so **_beautiful!_** He **had** to know how he'd done it!

"Yeah, he taught my grand-father, Victor Frankenstein, here at Monster High", Frankie said. "Not long after, Grandpa created my dad, then my mom, who in turn recently created me together."

DJ was impressed! He had also heard of, and admired, the work of Dr. Frankenstein and his creations; Doctors' Viktor and Viveka Stein! They were at the forefront of science and medicine! Many of his own mother's breakthroughs had been inspired by their discoveries. The basic premise of how his own cybernetics work is based in the Frankenstein and Stein family's work in electrical reanimation!

"Frankie", Duncan began with a sly smile, "If you want to surprise Kenny tonight, I'm sure DJ wouldn't mind giving you a ride to our house on his bike."

"Sure", DJ said.

"Voltageous! Thanks, guys!"

The first bell rang, so they all filed into the school.

xxXXxx

The week progressed smoothly, and Friday night the Monster High Nightmares easily defeated the zombies of Graveyard Prep. During the game, though, DJ could not take his eyes off of one particular player; Robecca Steam.

He frequently sat with her at lunch, just talking about anything. She told him all the details of her creation, and how her Dad had gotten the Vampire's Heart and how she helped find the new Vampire Queen; helping Draculaura to convince her to accept her destiny. DJ told her about his love of tinkering with all kinds of machines, the accident with the Tesla-coil, and building his alternative-fuel motorcycle.

"So you build working models of my Dad's old inventions? Just for fun?", she asked as he walked with her through the tunnels away from the Scream Track after the race. "Aren't they kind of 'old school' compared to modern technology?"

"That's the point", he smiled. "They need to be built **perfectly** in order to work properly; a testament to the genius of their design. I love electronics and computerized systems, but sometimes mechanical-based tech is more reliable when it's designed and built right."

"You know, DJ", she smiled. "I found and use Dad's old lab in the catacombs. If you want to come down sometime, I can show you some of his original models and inventions?"

"That would be awesome—I mean clawesome!", he said, still getting used to the new slang.

"See you on Monday?", she said.

"You know it!"

She smiled and joined Ms. Bloodgood and the mansion-dorm ghouls to head home. He was grinning like an idiot as he reached his bike.

"*ahem*"

He looked up to see Duncan waiting with his own bike, grinning knowingly; as were Margaret and Kenny next to her hybrid SUV.

"What?", DJ asked defensively.

"I see you've found someone you click with, bud", Duncan smirked. "I mean, you hang with Robecca every chance you get. You're even bouncing ideas for new stuff back and forth so fast the rest of us have trouble keeping up."

"Come on! It's not **that** bad."

"Dude, you're like me and Kenny put together when it comes to building and technical stuff. We had to work together to build and modify our vehicles. You were able to design and build yours all by yourself. So it's not surprising that you and Robecca are drawn to each other."

"What are you saying?" DJ asked suspiciously.

" **Seriously?!** ", Duncan face-palmed. "Do you **_really_** need me to spell it out? You obviously **_like_** her! As in, ' **like** her' like her!"

"ARE YOU NUTS?!", DJ shouted, a little **too** quickly. "She's a robot! Granted, a living; very **beautiful** robot….. but still!"

"So you think she's _beautiful_ , huh?", Duncan smirked. DJ face-palmed, then put on his helmet.

"Yes, she's a living work art created by a genius", he said, trying to salvage what he'd said.

"That's right. She's **_alive_** , with fully functioning emotions", Duncan said as they started their bikes and began driving home. "And I'm tellin' ya, I think she likes you, too!"

DJ felt his face heat up, and was grateful for how dark it was, positive that he was blushing furiously.

xxXXxx

Robecca helped her mom get Nightmare settled into her stall in the stables before going inside. She found her thoughts drifting to DJ. He was brilliant for his age. Maybe she could talk him into joining the school science club? But that wasn't where her thoughts about him remained. He had an easy-going, gentle way about him; seasoned delightfully with good humor. His dark blonde hair made his hazel, cybernetic eyes just… ** _pop!_** And his smile….

"Hi, Robecca."

She looked up, and realized she'd made it all the way to the room she shared with Dani as if on autopilot! Cupid was there along with Dani, both with knowing grins. Several other ghouls came up behind her as well.

"Hello, Cupid", she said sheepishly. "What are you doing here?"

"Come on, Robecca", she deadpanned. "You may be a mechanical being, but you're alive and have real emotions. I can feel it…..you have a thing for DJ, don't you?"

"What?! Don't be…!", she started to protest, only for all of them to give her a deadpan look. "All right, maybe I do. He's brilliant and handsome, and I could almost swear my inner-workings throb whenever I'm around him."

"So what is problem?", Abby asked simply.

"ABBY! Isn't it obvious?", Robecca asked, exasperated. "He may be part metal and machine, but he's mostly flesh and blood! And me", she said sadly, "I'm **all** metal. How could he possibly have feelings for me?"

"Love knows no bounds, Robecca", Cupid said, which reminded the metal maiden of when she'd said those same words to Dani her first night here.

"It's true, Mate", Lagoona said. "Look at me and Gil, or Draculaura and Clawd. Look at the hybrids."

"That's different, Lagoona", Robecca said sadly. "I may be alive, but I **am** just a machine. There is no love, marriage, and children for someone like me."

Watching, unseen outside the door, Hexiciah Steam smiled.

'Fear not, my dear Robecca', he thought to himself, as he created and stepped through a time-portal. 'It is time for my most precious gift to you, my daughter."

xxXXxx

On Saturday, Jinafire extended an offer to DJ to join in the training. He accepted and found that his aptitude closely resembled that of Kenny, and so Jin opted to teach him the same improvisational style. She had DJ and Kenny sparring while Frankie watched from the wings. Duncan was meditating as part of his chi training; focus, control, and flow of his inner power. Jin herself was sparring with her boyfriend Chad. He was learning quickly. His grasp of Drunken Fist was impressive, although he preferred to call it Clumsy Fist in his case, since he doesn't drink. When Clawdeen showed up, Jin called for a break. Duncan went to embrace his ghoulfriend, only to have her squeeze the breath out of him.

"Clawdeen!", he gasped. "Air!"

"Sorry!", she said sheepishly, letting go and giving him a kiss. "It's like I don't know my own strength anymore."

"It is all your new power as the Alpha", Jinafire said. "Why don't you start joining our training sessions, Clawdeen? It can help you get a better grasp on your new power so you can learn some control."

"I think I just might do that, Jin", Clawdeen smiled. "Thanks."

"Your mom's work is really impressive, DJ", Frankie said, looking closely at his cybernetic implants as she snuggled with Kenny.

"Thanks", DJ said. "Her breakthrough in nanotechnology is what really made it possible. The gold nano-wires not only connect the titanium exo-implants to my bones, they also conduct the signals from my brain to my muscles. The nano-tech also enabled her to make my new cybernetic eyes integrate and function almost organically into my eye-sockets and eyelids."

"I bet Robecca finds it as fascinating as I do", Frankie said innocently.

"Y-you really think so?", he asked, blushing furiously. He tried to turn away, but she noticed.

"DJ! Do you….? Oh. My. Ghoul!"

"Dude!", Kenny said. "That's awes…."

"Just stop!", DJ hissed. "What's the point? She can't **possibly** have feelings for me."

"Don't be so sure, DJ", Frankie winked. "She **does** have emotions and feelings, you know."

"I know that!", he said. "But why in the world would she have feelings for **me**? I'm just a high-tech science project."

xxXXxx

Argost stealthily entered New Salem on a mission. He was determined to become the most powerful yeti on Earth. He had learned years ago, that similar to werewolf alphas and betas, he could steal the power of other yetis by killing them with his own hands. Not all yetis have ice powers, it was actually a fairly rare gift among his kind. He had already acquired the vast physical strength and powers of several strong yetis. Now he had his sights set on a young female yeti whose natural ice powers rivaled his stolen power. Killing her and stealing her power would make him the most powerful yeti who ever lived! The fact that she was the grand-daughter of the Elder who imprisoned him years ago was just icing on the ice-cream cake!

He knew her name was Abby Bominable, and that she was attending Monster High. He could find her easily enough. He just had to do so without being discovered, as he was still a wanted fugitive. He had to find her, watch, and ambush her when she was alone and vulnerable. He grinned at the thought of feeling her power flow into him when he snapped her neck. Usually, females of their species were physically stronger than their male counterparts. However, his quest for power has made him the exception; he easily had twice the strength of the average female at the very least. Overpowering her would be child's play.

xxXXxx

Lilith Van Hellscream was flying around the mansion as if she'd been doing it all her life, and she had three times drained energy from her uncle's men to the point they were unconscious. She knew she had the power to seduce any male, and some females, virtually at will. She hated to admit it, but she was enjoying herself. She was repulsed by what she had become, and at the same time she found it thrilling beyond words.

"You have done well, Lilith", Van hellscream smirked. "The rest of your monster wardrobe has arrived. As soon as your assumed identity is finished, you will be ready for your mission."

"Thank you, Uncle Van", she said, hugging him. "I won't let you down!"

"I have no doubt of that, my dear", he said, fighting wave the revulsion he felt at her touch.

xxXXxx

Monday morning at Monster High, the guys and ghouls were gathered at the fountain. Duncan and Clawdeen had their lattes and DJ, remembering Duncan's snide remark last week, mixed OJ and Mountain Doom. He was surprised to find it a tasty combination; a pleasant 'good morning' tang with a decent caffeine jolt from the soda.

Dani was in good spirits, pun intended, because the Headmistress had informed her that morning at breakfast that the 'Ghostly Powers 101' class was ready to go. All the rescheduling for all the ghost and phantom students was done, and the class would be held right after lunch every day. Spectra and Operetta were buzzing with excitement.

Ghoulia joined the group, accompanied by her boyfriend; a zombie by the name of Sloman "Slo-Mo" Mortavitch. He was a nice guy, if a bit stoic, and smarter than most took him to be, much like Ghoulia. She walked up to DJ.

"Ahuhaieuh", she moaned.

"Huh? I'm sorry, I don't understand 'zombie' yet, Ghoulia."

"She said Robecca is down in her dad's old lab", Duncan smiled. "She asked Ghoulia to invite you down there during your free-period before lunch, and that she'll meet you at the entrance to the catacombs then."

"Cool!", DJ said, then took a several gulps of his drink. A few of the others smiled knowingly. What DJ and Robecca didn't know was that their friends had been texting back and forth among themselves, and decided to 'help' them. Duncan nodded subtly to Dani, who smiled as she returned the nod.

The bell rang, prompting those with drinks to gulp them down hurriedly as they entered the school.

Morning classes passed quickly. DJ was quickly becoming one of the few students Mr. Hack actually **liked** , despite of the fact that he prevented one of the teacher's deliberate 'back-firing' experiments from splattering the class with goo. Hack just simply could not deny DJ's aptitude for 'Mad Science' and willingness to learn.

DJ saw Robecca waiting for him at the entrance to the catacombs. She greeted him with a smile, and led the way to her father's old lab. Unnoticed by both of them, Dani turned invisible and followed them.

Robecca led them to a large, clockwork vault door. She took out what looked like a clockwork music box. DJ was confused at first, until she told him to "Wait for it…", as the clock on the box and the one over the door synchronized and the box began to open and extend various workings. Robecca watched both clocks, as if counting down; the spun vault door-handle and opened the door.

"It has to be done just right", she told him. "Otherwise the door opens up to surprises that are best avoided."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, like a bottomless pit or a dragon guarding a hoard, for starters", she grinned wryly.

"Ooookaaaaay, yeah, gotta agree with you!", he said as he followed her inside.

"Whooooa", he breathed, overwhelmed. He was standing in the secret lab of one his heroes; one of the most brilliant scientists who ever lived! "Wooooow!"

"I know, right?", Robecca giggled. "He invented so many things here. He designed and built me right here in this very room."

"It's more fantas—I mean _fang_ tastic than I ever imagined", he said. "Did you ever find out what happened to him? I mean, he **did** disappear over a hundred years ago?"

Robecca considered his question. Should she tell him the truth she had only recently learned? Something in her gears told her it was ok, that if anyone would understand, it would be DJ. She walked over to a large piece of equipment near the center of the room which had a huge lense.

"Do you see this?", she asked. He nodded. "This is the time machine he invented."

"Whoa, hold on there!", he jabbered excitedly. "Your dad built a **_working_** **time machine?!** That's clawesome!"

"Yes, it works", she sighed. "But it also took him away from me."

Robecca then told him the whole story; finding the lab with her friends, the accident with the machine fusing some of her friends together, her dad reappearing recently, what had happened to him, and his role as a 'Time Walker'. DJ listened with rapt attention.

"That's just….incredible", DJ said when she finished. Then he noticed something on one of the work-tables that looked familiar. "What's this?", he asked as he walked over. She followed and looked at what he was pointing to. It looked like an un-finished project using mirrors and a rod of ruby-quartz wrapped in a light-tube.

"I've preserved this table", she told him. "These were projects that I think my dad was working on when he disappeared."

DJ's eye widened with realization. "I know what this is!", he exclaimed as he reached toward it.

"Careful!", she said, quickly reaching to protect it, and their hands touched.

They both stopped at the touch, and looked in each other's eyes. Time seemed to stop for them both as they got lost; he into her bronze-geared eyes, and she in his hazel colored lenses. A still invisible Dani watched, desperately containing her excitement. 'Do it! Do it!', she thought to herself as they began to lean in closer to each other and….

The tea kettle whistled, breaking the moment. Both Robecca and DJ pulled back sheepishly, and Dani groaned inwardly. They were sssoooo close!

"*ahem* Would you like some ginger tea?", she asked, then thought, 'what was **that**? What was I thinking? I'm a machine! He's a normie! Well, mostly normie. But he's ssooo adorable….No! Stop that!'

"*ahem* Yeah sure…with honey and lemon if you have it?", he grinned nervously. At the same time he was thinking, 'Aw man! What was I thinking? I'm sure she thinks I'm some kinda nut!'

"Of course", she smiled. "You said you knew what he was working on there; what is it?"

"It's a prototype laser", he told her. "And he was working on it more than half a century before it was actually done! If he'd finished it, history would be so incredibly different! The industrial and medical applications alone, if begun back then, would be light-years ahead of what it is now!'

"Really?", Robecca asked, impressed.

"Yeah", he said. "The downside is that it's also very likely that laser _weapons_ technology would probably also be viable at this point as well."

"Oh dear", she said sadly. "Dad would **_not_** like that. He intended all of his inventions to be for the betterment of all life."

"You know", he said as he sipped his tea, "I **could** help you complete it in his honor?"

"That would be nice", she smiled. "It might be fun, too."

xxXXxx

It was lunchtime, and Dani had just filled everyone in on what happened in the lab. Everyone was getting their lunches when DJ and Robecca arrived. Everyone sat down at their usual table, with DJ and Robecca sitting next to each other. Their body language still showed an odd combination of unease and attraction. It was almost painful for the others to watch.

Duncan got up to refill his drink. He was fairly sure they just needed a nudge, given what Dani told them. He was almost back to the table, when he saw Robecca get up and excuse herself.

'Perfect! Gotta time this juuuuust….. **right**!', he thought as he 'tripped' and bumped into her. She yelped in surprise as she fell backwards…..right onto DJ's lap and into his arms!

"Sphinx!", Duncan said innocently. "I'm sorry! I am so clumsy!"

"It's ok, Duncan", she said as she looked up, and her voice trailed off as she found herself staring into DJ's eyes, "I'm alright…..no….harm…done."

"Are you sure you're ok?", DJ asked in genuine concern, as he also got lost in her eyes, their faces so close together.

"Y-yeah, I'm sure I..I..oh **_bugger_** it!", she said and kissed him full on the lips, to the applause of everyone at the table, and a few others nearby! He was caught by surprise, but melted into the kiss after a moment of shock. Both looked a bit sheepish when they broke the kiss.

"Do you really…?...but I thought….?", they both said simultaneously, before laughing at themselves.

"Dude", DJ grinned at a smirking Duncan, "You totally did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Who? Me?", he said innocently, still smirking. "Would I do a thing like that? I just tripped!"

" **Yes** , you bloody well **would**!", Robecca mock accused.

"Dude! You've had **perfect** balance since we were two years old!", DJ smirked. "You **_never_** 'just trip'! And I guess we should thank you for it."

Everyone settled back into eating their lunches and social chit-chat until the bell rang, ending lunch-break. Dani grinned.

"I'm goin' ghost!", she announced as she transformed, just like Danny. Then she flew to her new classroom for her first class as a teacher. The room had stadium-style seating and a large presentation area at the front, and she wrote her name on the board: 'Dani Phantom, Ghostly Powers 101'. She smiled as her students—she giggled to herself; 'her students'!—began to arrive. She marked down their names as they arrived: Spectra Vondergeist(ghost), Johnny Spirit(ghost), Operetta(phantom), Scarah Screams(banshee), Sirena Von Boo(mermaid/ghost hybrid), Boo-lu Cerone(phantom), Paul Tergeist(ghost), and Chase Rider('galloping ghost'; ghost cowboy & horse).

"Good afternoon, everyone", she greeted them cheerfully. "Welcome to Ghostly Powers 101! I'm Dani Phantom."

"Not for nuthin'; you're cute & all, Dani", Johnny Spirit said with a touch of sarcasm as he flipped up the collar of his biker jacket. "But what can a little ghoul like you teach **_us_** about ghost powers? I mean, all'a us are way older than you."

"Well", Dani smirked, "Johnny, is it? I'm already an expert in all of the most common ghostly powers, I have experience with virtually every ghost power there is, and I've been taught by my DNA-dad; King Danny Phantom!"

"That's cool an' all, but I'm still not impressed", he said.

"Ok, Johnny", she grinned wickedly. "How about you help me with a demonstration? Charge at me with everything you got!"

"I don't wanna hurt ya, kid", he said sincerely.

"Please", she said. "Take. Your. Best. Shot!"

"Ok, you asked for it", he said, and launched himself at her at full speed with his fist cocked. Dani stayed where she was, smiling. Just before he reached her, she held up a hand, generating a green ecto-energy shield. Johnny slammed into it and was zapped and repulsed away with great force. He crashed into the front row of seats in a heap.

"Ecto-energy shield", she smirked. "Handy for protection."

"Ok", he said, taking out a comb to fix his slicked back hair. " ** _Now_** I'm impressed. You made your point."

"All of you have inherent ghost powers and abilities", Dani said. "My job is to teach you how to use them better and learn new ones. Also, I see some of you(she looked at Operetta, Scarah, and Boo-Lu) seem to remain solid all the time. I can help you learn to go intangible, invisible, and fly. And I see others who seem to have difficulty becoming solid. Then I can teach you more advanced powers, like shields and ecto-rays."

"I can already shoot", Chase said, cocking his forefingers and thumbs like guns; right down to the 'ch-chink' sound of cocking. He then fired an ecto-bullet from each 'gun' at one of the targets set-up in front.

"Cool", Dani smiled. "As I said earlier, you all have your own inherent ghost powers. When we get to target practice, I may call on you to assist me, Chase."

"Happy to oblige", he smirked, tipping the front brim of his cowboy hat.

"Ok", Dani said, moving on. "First, I need to know what all of you can do, and then we can go from there. Sound good?"

xxXXxx

After the last bell, Robecca went back down to her dad's lab. She felt like she was walking on air, and she wasn't even using her steam jets. DJ liked her! He really, really liked her! He maybe even loved her! She had never felt so happy in all her life. She went to the table where her dad's prototype laser was, looking forward to working on it with DJ. As she carefully dusted it and the table off, she noticed an envelope on top of one of her dad's journals. Strange, they weren't there earlier. Her name was written on the envelope….in her father's handwriting! She opened it and pulled out a letter and a small golden gear inscribed with runes she couldn't read.

 _My Dearest Daughter Robecca,_

 _I told you I would look in from time to time, but this is special. I knew this day would come. I've known it from the day I brought you to life and all through the millennia of my existence in the Time-Stream. You have found love, that most precious gift in all reality. When you first awoke, for all my skill in creating artificial organs; I had been unable to create an artificial means of reproduction. So I feared that I had condemned you to never know the joys of starting a family of your own._

 _However, my time as a Time Walker has brought hope! As I told you, there are certain rules of non-interference that I and my fellows must follow. Rare exceptions can be made, so long as such does not endanger the time-line. I received one such exception for_ _ **you**_ _, my dear. It was granted by the tie-breaking vote of my dear friend, Professor Paradox. This gold gear is from the future, and uses both science and magick. This piece of nanotechno-sorcery was made specifically for_ _ **you**_ _, and you MUST destroy this letter and swear never to reveal the full truth of it to anyone but your mother and your future husband, and only when you are ready for the future it holds. This gear, when you install it properly, will alter your body to enable you to be physically intimate with your love and, when you decide you are ready, magickally tap into the DNA you acquired from your mother and myself during the forging of your metals to combine with that of your love to create new life! You_ _ **can**_ _have children when you are ready, my daughter!_

 _The journal with this letter contains detailed diagrams and instructions for installing the gear, as well as a schematic of your new artificial reproductive system that it will create, as well as how said system will function. Commit them to your permanent memory once you complete installation, then destroy them along with this letter._

 _I love you dearly, my darling daughter. And I will see you again soon._

 _Love Always, your father._

 _P.S.- I rather like this DJ boy! A fine choice for you, my dear!_

Oily tears of joy were streaming down her copper face. Children. One day, she could have **_children!_** And she could have them by making love to the guy she loved!

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Argost is based loosely on the 'Secret Saturdays' villain of the same name. However, my version is from this AU, and thus is a different take on the character.**

 **Two of Dani's students; Paul Tergeist and Chase Rider, are my OC's.**

 **Professor Paradox is from Ben 10.**

 **The concept of the golden gear for Robecca is very similar to the same thing created by Creaturemaster in his Ben10/Monster High masterwork; "We are Monsters", so credit goes to him!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome!**

 **xxXXxx**


	35. Chapter 34

**Sorry for the wait with this Chapter, I kinda got stuck there. I knew what I wanted to happen later, but was stuck on 'right now'. So this chapter is mostly fluff seasoned with some set-up for later. As always, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 34**

"Are you sure about this, Cupid?", Bloodgood asked. C.A. Cupid had come to her shortly after dinner to discuss things in private.

"Yes, Headmistress", the young demi-goddess replied. "My job here is virtually complete. The trend toward Love is here to stay. Most of the couples that have gotten together lately did so without needing any help from me. There are other worlds that need my help. That's why I'm the only Olympian that still watches over and wanders the realms. I've already spoken to Ms. Le Fey, and she's arranging it for me."

"And all your friends?"

"I will say my good-byes when the time comes", she said wistfully.

"Very well", Bloodgood said. "I will have a hard copy of all your school records ready to take with you, for your next school."

"Thank you, Ms. Bloodgood."

xxXXxx

Robecca opened her mechanical eyes and stepped out of her recharge booth in the lab. She had worked through much of the night, installing the golden gear. She had felt the energy from it as soon as she was finished, and a tingly sensation as the nanites went to work on her inner-workings. She could feel some of the changes were now complete; the rest would require a standard shut-down and 'rest' period.

As she moved about, preparing for the day, she felt two points of pleasure coming from her metal breasts. She went to the mirror and removed her top. She saw that she now had soft, rubbery nipples and areolas.

"It's working!", she joyfully said to herself. She now had working artificial mammary glands in 'stand-by' mode. She could now, whenever she chose, convert any dairy products she ingested into breast-milk!

'Looks like I need some bras now', she thought when she put her top back on, as her new erect nipples were clearly visible through her top. 'And soon I'll need panties, too.' She quickly judged her size, and knew just the ghouls to talk to before classes started for the day.

xxXXxx

The guys and ghouls were gathered around the fountain, discussing the upcoming school Halloween party and dance. Clawdeen, Jinafire, and Skelita had made clawsome new party clothes for everyone, and the Hall of Halloween was being prepared. Duncan and DJ were both psyched as this would be their first Halloween at Monster High.

"Frankie? Clawdeen?"

The ghouls looked up and saw Robecca walking over wearing an overcoat. DJ smiled and kissed her in greeting.

"I need a minute with the ghouls, ok, luv?", she asked, smiling. He nodded.

"Hi, Robecca", Frankie said cheerfully.

"Sup, ghoulfriend?", Clawdeen smiled.

"Can I talk to you two privately?"

"Uh, sure", Clawdeen said, as she and Frankie walked away from the group with her.

"What's wrong, Robecca?", Frankie asked, a bit concerned.

"Nothing is wrong", she said with joy in her eyes. "Clawdeen, you always have plenty of materials for the fashion club around, right?"

"Yeah", the werewolf answered. "What do you need?"

Robecca looked around quickly, and seeing no one around, she partly opened her coat. "I need a bra", she whispered. Clawdeen and Frankie were dumbfounded, seeing nipples clearly defined through her top.

"How…..?", Clawdeen began to ask, only for Robecca to cut her off gently.

"It's not important", she said. "Frankie, you and I are the same size; so undergarments for you would fit me perfectly. Are there any in fashion club closet right now?"

"Come with us", Clawdeen grinned and took the copper beauty by the arm and led the way. "Glad I got my latte, 'cuz if **this** is any indication of how today is gonna go, I need the caffeine!"

"But you know what else this means for us after school today, right, ghouls?", Frankie grinned.

"Shopping!", Clawdeen said excitedly.

xxXXxx

"You're in a really good mood today, Abby", Jinx smiled. "What's got you so happy?"

"Annoyink Hot-Head got video workink on computer last night", the yeti smirked. "Abby was happy to see and talk with him."

"That's great, Abby!", Draculaura said. "How's he doing?"

"He does well!", she grinned. "Is learning to better control powers. *giggle* He say he is sure that when he is comink home, should not be settink everythink on fire anymore."

"Well, that's good news", Clawd smirked. "It'll be good to have him back, and not setting the casketball on fire during games anymore."

"To say nothing of all the books", Cleo sniped.

"Everything I keep hearing about this 'Heath' makes him sound like a lot of laughs!", Duncan chuckled.

"Sure", Gil deadpanned. "If you think spontaneous combustion of any **thing** at any **time** is funny? Then, yeah, he's a laugh riot. He even somehow set the swimming pool on fire once."

"You're kidding?", Duncan drolled.

"Nope."

"Eh, just part of charm", Abby grinned, getting a laugh out of everyone.

The bell rang, and everyone went inside.

xxXXxx

Grace Bloodgood was working at her desk when there was a knock at her door.

"Enter", she called out. The door opened and Robecca stepped in.

"Mum, do you have a moment?"

"Of course, dear", Grace smiled at her daughter. "Please come in."

"Mum, I guess you heard that I'm dating the new boy; DJ?"

"Yes, the other ghouls mentioned it", Grace smiled. "Seems like a nice boy, and smart, too."

"Yeah", Robecca giggled. "I didn't tell you myself because I went to Dad's lab after school and was there all night."

"You do that so often, that I simply assumed that was the case, dear", she smiled. "No need to explain."

"Mum, when I got there, I found a letter from Dad along with one of his jounals and a special new gear", she said, handing her mom the letter.

Grace began to read, her heart sped up a bit seeing the script of her love. Then her eyes widened as she continued to read, and inhaled sharply upon reading that their daughter could have a family one day! She looked at Robecca when she finished reading the letter.

"Did you…?", she began to ask.

"Installed it last night", Robecca confirmed. "It took most of the night, so I shut-down and recharged for a few hours there in the lab. And when I woke up…well, let's just say I'm lucky the fashion club had a bra available that fit me", she blushed.

"Have you told DJ?", Grace asked.

"Not yet", she said, looking down. "I-I **think** I love him, but I need to be sure of us first, I guess. Besides, I'm not done changing yet."

"I think you made the right decision", Grace assured her. "If he loves you, he'll understand why you waited to tell him. I do, however, recommend waiting to destroy the letter until then as well. Letting it explain in the words of your father might be easier for you."

"Thanks, Mum!", Robecca said, hugging her.

xxXXxx

Chase Rider had a problem. Under normal circumstances, there wouldn't be a problem at all; but circumstances were **not** normal. He wasn't the first 14 year old to have a crush on a classmate; half the freshmen at Monster High did. The problem was that Dani Phantom was also his teacher! Plus, she was technically—if not chronologically—two years younger than he was. It was hard enough to wrap his head around, let alone his heart. He was so lost in thought as he walked Stampede, his ghost horse, down the hall that he would've bumped into Howleen if he hadn't been intangible.

"S'cuse me", Chase apologized. "Sorry 'bout that, little lady."

"It's ok", the young werewolf said. "You're Chase, right? I've seen you around. I'm Howleen."

"Pleased ta make yer acquaintence", he said, politely tipping his hat. "Say, ain't you datin' that Romulus feller?"

"Yeah", she smiled dreamily. "He's a great guy. I've known him since we were little kids, mainly because he's one of my brother's oldest and best friends. I had a crush on him for the longest time. But it wasn't until my sister worked up the courage to go on a date with her boyfriend that I finally told him how I felt and asked him out."

"Ain't it, I don't know, strange that he's almost two years older'n you?", he asked, then added when she gave him a hard look, "I ain't judgin'! Just curious."

"Not really", she said. "There are several couples in school with similar age-gaps. Besides, the most important thing is that the feelings are real, ya know?"

"I reckon so", he smiled. "Well, I gotta git goin'. Thanks for the talk, and you have yerself a good day, ya hear?"

"Thanks! You, too."

xxXXxx

Duncan was sitting with Clawedeen and Jinafire in Hiss-tory class as he normally did. As luck would have it, DJ and Robecca were in front of them.

"Class", Mr. Rotter began, "I am sure many of you are curious about our newest student; DJ Troniquez, and his scare-itage. And I am equally certain that he has told you that he is a cyborg; meaning that he is a living being who is also part machine. While very rare, cyborgs are not unheard of. As many of you know, my own teaching mentor; Professor Steam, was a cyborg. He designed and built his own mechanical parts himself."

"Excuse me, Mr. Rotter", Duncan piped up, seeing that the discussion was making his friend a bit uncomfortable, "but what do cyborgs have to do with history?"

"I'm glad you asked, Duncan", Mr. Rotter said. "I was also about to mention your own unique scare-itage as well. This week, I want you all to do reports on your scare-itage for presentation to the class on Friday. You and DJ are each unique from the class in different ways that will impact your projects. You, Duncan, will report on **both** sides of your scare-itage; kaiju and normie. Consult your fellow hybrids for help if you need it. And you, DJ, will also present a report on how prosthetics have progressed from the most primitive hooks used as hand-replacements up to your own advanced cybernetics to accompany your family-tree report."

Both boys groaned, much to the giggling amusement of their ghoulfriends. But the ghouls were really sympathetic of their plight, though. They had to do almost double the work for their reports, just because of who they were.

"It's not fair", DJ said glumly as they headed to lunch.

"Hey, at least your extra work only requires a trip to the library, or an internet search", Duncan said. "Me? I have to find a way to contact my dad. He can only answer a crystal call if he's in his lair, and hunting down the rogue kaijus has him out and about most of the time."

"Perhaps not, Duncan", Jinafire said.

"What do you mean, Jin?", Duncan asked.

"My father taught me a special ritual meditation that allows us to see, or even sometimes speak, to our ancestors", she told him. "It might be possible for you to try; I can teach you what to do and help you with the ritual."

"That would be great, Jin!", he said. "I'll try. Even if it doesn't work, it will be a cool experience, and I can still try contacting my dad as well."

xxXXxx

"Are you sure you're ok?", DJ asked as they sat down to lunch. "You seem kinda distracted."

"I'm better than ok, Luv", Robecca said with a warm smile. "It's a surprise, and I'll tell you all about when the time is right."

Duncan had made a new mini-fence, so he and Clawdeen could eat together without disturbing vegan Draculaura. It had the added bonus of being kinda cozy as they ate together. Everyone had just finished eating, when Clawdeen kissed Duncan deeply.

"You gave me a piece of yourself, Duncan", she smiled, after breaking the kiss. She lovingly fingered the necklace he made for her. "So I thought I'd return the favor."

She reached into her purse and pulled out a heart-shaped locket and handed it to him.

"Open it", she grinned.

He opened it to see a picture of the two of them together on one side, and a small lock of her luxurious hair secure on the other. A genuine smile split his face.

"I love it, Clawdeen. That's your hair, isn't it?"

"Yup", she smiled. "Now you can carry a little piece of me wherever you go."

"I'm touched, Sweetie", he smiled warmly and kissed her. Then he smirked. "Especially since I know what a **_sacrifice_** it is. I mean, it's your **_hair_**."

"Smart-ass!", she giggled as she slapped his shoulder playfully.

"And you wouldn't have me any other way, would you?", he smiled, hugging her and leaning his forehead against hers.

"True", she smirked, kissing him deeply.

xxXXxx

Boodika Le Fey had a lot on her mind. Ever since revealing the truth to Claire, they had begun to build a relationship outside of class. Claire's mother had also reached out to the witch, wanting to know more about her grandmother's lost history. They had, in fact, invited her to join them for Thanksgiving the following month.

She was also helping C.A. Cupid find the next realm that needed her help; and it seems that she had succeeded. Now all that remained were the preparations.

Finally, something strange was going on with the world's ley-lines. The ley-lines stretch across the world, forming a veritable web of energy. Different lines often intersect in many places; places that are often attributed to great, ancient power. Monster High was built on one such intersection. Those with the knowledge can tap into that power for various magicks.

What Boodika was sensing was as if someone was actually travelling along the ley-lines. Such magick would enable near instantaneous travel, but very few were capable of it. Aside from herself, she only knew of two others. One was Arachne, demi-goddess of spiders. Her daughter; Wydowna Spider, might well learn how one day, but was not yet capable. The only other that Boodika knew of was impossible; as her last battle with Revolta had left the vaunted 'Witch of the Web' virtually crippled and powerless, **if** she had even survived.

"I will have to investigate further", she said to herself as she prepared for her class.

xxXXXx

Deuce was not his usual laid-back self. Mr. Rotter's assignment was eating at him. He had done Scare-itage reports before, and every time it bothered him. Yes, he was a gorgon; the son of Medusa, one of the three gorgons of Greek legend. Of the three, only his mom and Aunt Stheno still live, and he has a cousin: Viperine Gorgon. He knew that her dad had been a blind reptilian before his accidental death. But whenever Deuce asked his mom about his own father, she got very evasive. What was she hiding? Why was she so afraid to tell him about his father? The only thing he ever got from her on the subject was that she had loved his father very much. "We would still be together if…circumstances had allowed it", she had once tearfully told him.

"Deuce", Cleo huffed breaking him from his reverie. "Did you hear a word of what I just said?"

"Sorry, Babe", he apologized. "A lot on my mind. What did you say?"

"I said", she smirked; a sultry look in her eyes, "Daddy and Nefera are in Boo York on business, so the pyramid is empty."

"So you want to throw a party?"

"Mmmm-Hmmm", she cooed. "A **_private_** party; just you and me, **tonight.** "

"Oh!", he grinned and embraced her. " ** _That_** kind of party."

xxXXxx

The guys accompanied the ghouls on their "Maul Crawl" after school and practice. Of course, none of the guys knew that it was mostly for the benefit of Robecca. While the other ghouls distracted the guys with new outfits or accessories, she found several lovely, well-fitting bra & panties sets of various colors.

After shopping, they all gathered for pizza at the food court. Cleo and Deuce decided to head out, and waved good-bye to the others while they waited for their pizzas. Duncan talked Clawdeen into trying pineapple on their meat-lovers special, and she found that the sweetness of the fruit seemed set off all the other flavors in the pizza.

After pizza, everyone decided to call it a night and head for home. The boyfriends all offered their ghoulfriends rides, while Draculaura drove Clawd.

After she had finished her homework, and generously helped Dani with hers, Robecca prepared to shut down for the night.

'I may be a machine',she thought to herself with a joyful smile. 'But when I wake up tomorrow, I will also be a **real** ghoul!'

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Mostly fluff this chapter, but also some set-up for later!** **Just to clarify: Chase Rider's appearance is basically a ghost version of a teen from DC named Serifan, who appeared in episode 17, season 1 of Young Justice; "Disordered". Stampede, his ghost horse, is a semi-skeletal spectre with a mane of of ghost-fire.**

 **xxXXxx**


	36. Chapter 35: Into the Past

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter was fun to write, with some major set-ups for later and more info and history about the Kaiju Kingdom! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 35: Into the Past

Robecca Steam awoke feeling different, and smiled as she disengaged from her recharge booth. Dani was already awake and in the shower, so Robecca was alone in their room. She went to the standing mirror, took a breath, let it out slowly, and lifted her nightgown. Where she only had a featureless crotch the night before, she now had fully functioning female genitals! As if she needed to prove it to herself, she probed them with her fingers; she had moist, soft silicone lips surrounding her new vaginal opening and a rubbery clit. At her own touch, she felt waves of a kind of pleasure she had never experienced before in her life.

She wept joyful tears as she crossed the room to the closet and her drawers to pick out her outfit and bra and panties. She was so happy as she got dressed then brushed her black & blue hair. She wiped away the tears when she heard the shower turn off.

Dani came out of their bathroom towel-drying her hair, another towel wrapped around her.

"Good morning, Robecca", Dani quipped. "You seem really happy this morning."

"I really am, Dani", she smiled. "I don't think I've ever been this happy before."

"Really?", Dani asked as she got dressed. "What's up?"

"Aw, no reason", she smiled dreamily, thinking about DJ. "Would you like me to brush your hair?"

"Sure. It's hard to do the back", Dani said, handing her roomie her hairbrush. "Thanks."

Robecca gently and diligently brushed the younger ghoul's hair and helped her tie it back into a pony-tail. All the while, she was thinking about her boyfriend. As far as he knew, they could never be sexual lovers, but he loved her anyway! Knowing that made her artificial heart swell. Yes, she loved him, and he loved her. She felt it in his every touch, his every kiss. And now they **could** be intimate in **_every_** way true lovers could! But for now she would wait, and tell him at the right time.

Once Dani was finished getting ready, she and Robecca went downstairs to join Grace and the other ghouls for breakfast. Astranova had decided to join them this morning as well; although, like Robecca, she only had tea.

Robecca looked at her mom, and smiled as she nodded subtly. Grace returned the nod with a small smile.

"Let's not tarry too long, ghouls", Grace said. "I know how you all like to socialize with your friends before class."

xxXXxx

Cupid went to her broadcast booth with bitter-sweet feelings.

"Good morning, Callers", she said into the microphone. "C.A. Cupid here for all your romantic advice needs. I'm happy to say that I haven't been getting very many calls lately; happy because that means Love has been finding a way for many of you without my help, and my past advice has taken root and keeps helping new guys and ghouls. So, dear callers and listeners, my work here is done. There are other realms where love and romance need my help. So, I'm leaving Monster High on Halloween night."

At the fountain, the guys and ghouls were shocked at this announcement. Most of them had been touched by her help in one way or another. Clawd & Draculaura and Duncan & Clawdeen were particularly affected.

"But don't worry", she said. "Recordings of my past shows will still air in random rotation after I'm gone, so my advice will keep helping those in need; and I will still take calls right up until I leave you. As for my closest friends, I will say my good-byes personally when the time comes."

xxXXxx

"I can't believe Cupid is leaving", Clawdeen said, shaking her head. Not only was Cupid her friend; but she had also helped her brother and Draculaura when Valentine tried to steal her from Clawd and 'harvest' her heart. Cupid had also helped her and Duncan get together.

"Yeah", Duncan agreed. "I don't know what I would've done without her advice. We might not be together if it weren't for her."

"She's been a friend to all of us", Frankie said.

"I'm going to miss her!", Draculaura cried.

"She helped me to realize how I really felt", Robecca said, hugging DJ.

"She helped us, too", Gil said, his arm around Lagoona.

"She helped a lot of us", Cleo said. "And we are **_not_** going to let her go without showing her how much she's meant to so many of us."

"What do you have in mind, Cleo?", Spectra asked.

"Yeah, we want to help, too", Jinx said, Thad by her side.

"Ahueeeh", Ghoulia agreed.

As Cleo laid out her plan, Duncan's iCoffin beeped, a text message from Jinafire:

 _I've made the necessary preparations for the ritual. Meet me in the student's lounge in the catacombs during our free period. I will take you to the hidden temple._

"Want to me come with?", Clawdeen offered when she saw the message.

"Sure", he smiled, then pulled her in for a deep kiss.

xxXXxx

"So what can you tell me about the realm I will be going to, Ms. Le Fey?", Cupid asked.

"It is a world of magick and fairy tales", the elder witch said, as she waved her hand in front of her magick mirror; showing her images from Ever After High. "It is called Ever After. Your new school will be Ever After High. Sadly, this realm is dominated by a preoccupation with 'pre-ordained Destiny'. The children of legendary fairy tales are expected to relive their parent's stories. However, True Love's Kiss still holds the ultimate magick there; so there **_is_** hope that you can help them. But be warned; the Headmaster, Milton Grimm, will adamantly oppose **anything** that could alter these 'destinies'. However, as a legendary child yourself, he **cannot** deny your enrollment or destiny as the daughter of Eros."

"Looks like just the kind of place my father would want me to go", Cupid said.

"Indeed", Boodika smiled. "Exactly what Eros said when I told him."

"Dad", Cupid grinned.

"The mirror will be prepared to transport you on Halloween night", Boodika told her. "My students will assist me with the spell that night, it will be good experience for them."

"Thank you, Ms. Le Fey."

xxXXxx

Jinafire led the way in the catacombs. Duncan and Clawdeen followed her into a section that was rarely travelled, judging by the layers of dust they kicked up as they walked. "Dust of the ages", she told them.

Finally, they came to a stone bridge over a lava-flow. On the other side was a pillared edifice around an entrance. The Hidden Temple. Inside, the room was filled with lit candles all along the walls. At the alter was a singular large candle on a pedestal in front of a low stone slab.

"Clawdeen, stay here with me", Jin said, then turned to Duncan. "Duncan, take your meditative position on the slab, facing the candle."

"Good luck", Clawdeen told him, then kissed him deeply.

"Thanks", he said with a loving smile. He turned and walked to the slab. He sat indian-style, facing them and the candle right in front of him. He placed his hands on his knees, palms up. This meditation was to seek knowledge, not focus his power; thus a different position for his hands.

"Focus on the candle", Jin said. "It is a reflection of your own inner fire. **All** of your focus, **all** of your energy, your **_chi;_** **must** be with the candle. I will guide you as best I can."

"Ok, so if I lose focus I die?", Duncan chuckled.

"No", she said solemnly. "But your mind and soul could be lost to the ether, never to return."

"Duncan, are you sure about this?", Clawdeen asked with great concern. "It's just a school project. Why take such a risk?"

"It's not just about the project, Clawdeen", he told her. "I **need** to know more about my kaiju scare-itage. My Dad is currently unreachable, and my Mom's knowledge is barely more than the MEGTAF database."

"Clear your mind and focus", Jinafire said. Duncan took a deep breath, and focused on the candle. He was soon in a semi-trance, as the flame of the candle grew and danced wildly.

"Go back, Duncan Rosenblatt", Jin entreated. "Through your past. Relive its moments. Fill each one of them with your soul. Slowly, dear cousin. Allow it to occur."

The room began to spin slowly around him and the candle, becoming a blur.

 _*He saw his battle with Remus Darkclaw._

 _*The fight with the ogre-bear, battling the gremlins on the train._

 _*The rescue of Kenny, and escaping the catacombs after rescuing Clawdeen and his Mom._

 _*Nefera's attempts to seduce him, the Skultimate Roller Maze games._

 _*His battles with Torq and his Horde, falling in love with Clawdeen, and his moments with her._

"Concentrate", the voice of Jinafire told him. "Go back further, to the battles with the rogue kaijus."

 _*The attack on his old home, the death of Jenna, killing Astoroth._

 _*Fighting beside his parents, defeating Abbadon and Astoroth._

 _*His father presenting him to his kaiju council to proclaim him as his heir to the throne, the lava-bath awakening his powers._

"Remember the serenity of your childhood with your mother."

 _*A new home with his loving mother every year, playing with his friend DJ._

 _*Getting a physical from Dr. Pytell, Col. Barnes watching over him at every school._

 _* "Tell me more about my father", a very young Duncan asked his mother._

"Now, make the transition to your father; his time and those of your ancestors. Walk in their footsteps, become part of their existence."

(On the other side of the world while hunting for the rogues, Belloc senses something; he feels the presense of his son, and he smiles. Belloc opens his mind, letting Duncan into his memory.)

 _*Belloc leading his kind during the Human/Kaiju Wars, the waste of life on both sides, his fellow royals asking him to end it, Margaret offering herself, falling in love with her._

 _*Duncan's great-great-grandfather, Chaoxor founding the Monster Council of Royals with several others, drafting the first laws for all monsterkind._

 _*Draxus leading the kaiju to put down the rebellion led by the half-demon kaiju Diablogarn, and exiling him to limbo._

 _*"You make me proud, my son", the Kaiju Queen Tiamat said to her son, Marduk, after he defeated her to claim the throne._

"I see a dominating figure beyond all others that I'm seeing", Duncan said softly. "But I can't make contact."

"You can do it, Duncan. Go back. Concentrate. **_Be_** with your ancestors. **_Follow_** them."

The images of several more ancient Kaiju, all looking like variable versions of his father, passed before him. Finally, an arena littered with the bodies of dead and injured kaijus, a black and red version of Belloc with more horns and spikes, flames still in his mouth standing over them, the arena surrounded by many others.

" **I AM PRIMALUS, YOUR** ** _KING_** ", he stated simply, and all bowed to him. He then withdrew into a very familiar lair. Duncan slowly approached the resting Primalus, his breath caught in his throat. This was his ancestor; the **first** King of the Kaiju, a title he earned in battle **_long_** before the rise of mankind. Primalus opened his eyes and looked directly at him.

" **Duncan Rosenblatt** ", he rumbled, surprising Duncan. " **You have travelled far to seek out an old kaiju. And yet, you know nothing about me, young one.** "

"I hope I'm not disturbing you."

" **You are not. Why have you come?** "

"I needed to learn about my past, my ancestors. My father has named **me** his heir to the throne."

Primalus chuckled and seemed to smile satisfactorily.

" **He who dwells on the past may rob the present** ", Primalus said. " **But he who** ** _ignores_** **the past may rob the future. The seeds of our Destiny are nurtured by the roots of the past. Remember what you have seen and heard. You have many trials ahead of you, trials that will require more than just raw power to overcome. Go in peace, Duncan Rosenblatt.** "

"Good-bye, honored ancestor", he said, as the world swirled away into blackness.

The next thing he knew, Clawdeen and Jinafire were helping him up. The 'trip' had taken a lot out of him.

"What did you see?", Clawdeen asked.

"It was incredible", he whispered in awe. "I can only tell it once, so let's wait for lunch so I can tell everyone."

xxXXxx

"Whoa", Clawd whispered.

"Dude", Deuce breathed, awe in his voice.

"I know, right?", Duncan smirked. All the guys and ghouls were awed when Duncan regaled them with what he saw in his vision. As he'd told the story, they all stopped eating, hanging on his every word.

"Somehow, this ritual you did allowed you to access the genetic memory of your kaiju bloodline", DJ said, impressed. "It's fascinating."

"Always the scientist eh, DJ?", Duncan smirked.

"I can't believe your royal line is even longer than **mine** ", Cleo sniped, to cover her own awe.

"The line of the Dragon Emperors is equally long, Cleo", Jinafire smirked.

"The difference from most royal lines is that the kaiju royals aren't an automatic inheritance", Duncan said. "Kings can only stay king by battle. What amazes me is that even under those conditions, my family line has retained the title from the beginning; since Primalus became the first king in some kind of battle royale….no pun intended."

"Well, I think you learned more than enough to satisfy Mr. Rotter", Clawdeen chuckled.

"Maybe", Duncan laughed. "But I still have to write it all and do a presentation in class, and include my normie family as well. Ugh. Sometimes I think Mr. Rotter is just as bad as Mr. Hack, just in different ways."

"Tell me about it", DJ snarked. "I gotta do double-work, too. Plus I gotta be careful explaining about my own cybernetics, since my Mom's work is still mostly top-secret and proprietary."

"I'm sure you'll manage just fine, Luv", Robecca said sweetly. "If you like, we could work together on both our Scare-itage reports at your house? You could find out more about my Dad, and I'd love to hear more about your family."

"I think I'd really like that", DJ smirked. "On one condition: you ride on my bike with me again. I kinda liked feeling your arms around me last time."

"DJ!", she smiled, blushing so furiously that a little steam whistled out of her ears as she playfully slapped his shoulder.

xxXXxx

"Class", Boodika said, addressing her students, "as you all know; C. A. Cupid will be leaving Monster High on Halloween Night. As all of you also know, Halloween, also known in magickal circles as Samhain, is a sacred holiday to all witches, wizards, and other magick users. This is because the barriers between worlds are at their thinnest that night, and the world's magickal energies are at their peak. It is for this reason that we will be helping Cupid that night to travel to the new realm she will be helping."

"Excuse me, Ms. Le Fey", Gigi asked, raising her hand. "How is she going to 'cross-over' as it were?"

"I'm glad you asked, Gigi", she smiled, then waved her hand indicating the large mirror at the front of the room. "My magick mirror. Such objects are most often used to see many things; other people, places, the past, the future, even other realms. But with enough power behind the proper spell, they can also become portals to those realms. This is the perfect task for a coven your size and experience."

"Isn't that a bit—I don't know—risky?", Claire asked honestly, with a little concern. "I mean, we're only students and nowhere near your level."

"Don't worry, Claire", Boodika smiled at her great-grand-niece. "I will be there to guide you, and step in if needed. The risk is minimal, and it will be a good coven-building exercise for you all."

xxXXxx

"See you at home, DJ", Duncan said as he and Clawdeen put on their helmets. "I'm taking Clawdeen home first."

"Sure", DJ said as Robecca got on his bike and wrapped her arms around him. Then he started it up, and Robecca inhaled sharply. The last time she rode on his bike with him was before her changes. This time, the vibrations from the engine shot waves pleasure through her new….features straight up through her body! She reflexively hugged DJ tighter before she adjusted her sensory input down to a level that would not have her making him pull over so she could jump on him right this very second!

"Easy, Sweetheart", he assured her, misconstruing her reaction. "You know you're safe with me on this thing."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Cool, huh? Like I said before, this chapter was fun to write! For Duncan's 'vision quest', I drew a lot of inspiration from one of my favorite TV shows of the 90's: "Kung Fu, the Legend Continues"! Anyone who remembers and loves that show gets a Kaiju Cookie!**

 **I also tapped a little Babylonian mythology by making Tiamat and Marduk kaijus.**

 **And unknown to DJ, things are really heating up for him and Robecca! LOL!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	37. Chapter 36: This is Halloween!

**_Hey, Everyone! As usual, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High._**

Chapter 36: This is Halloween!

"So as cybernetics continue to advance, it will eventually even be possible to fully replace lost or missing limbs with fully functioning artificial replacements that look normal."

"Well done, DJ", Mr. Rotter said at the conclusion of DJ's scare-itage report. "Duncan, yours is the last scare-itage report. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Mr. Rotter", he replied as he went to the front of the class. He had meticulously, with help from Kenny and DJ, made CGI images of many of his ancestors; made easier by using a photo of Belloc as a template. He plugged his lap-top into the much larger display screen.

Duncan started with his human family; his great-grandparents up to his mother, "a scholar of monsterkind and cultures, with a particular interest in the kaiju", and how she'd offered herself to Belloc to end the war and they fell in love…..which started him on Belloc and his kaiju ancestors, and he scrolled through the pictures as he spoke.

Chaoxor; one of the founding members of the Monster Council of Royals.

Draxus; who saved the world from Diablogarn and the kaijus who followed him.

Tiamat, Marduk, and several others of note.

And finally, Primalus, the first king.

"What I conclude is that the Kaijus were the first guardians of our world, and remain the most powerful. We protect this planet from forces that would threaten it."

He blinked when he realized he'd said 'we', and it seemed that only Clawdeen noticed and realized the implication; he had finally **fully** accepted who he is….. ** _all_** of who he is.

"Um, I guess that's it."

"Well done, Duncan", Mr. Rotter said. "Very thorough. In fact, a great deal of what you have told us cannot be found in any books or the interweb?"

"I talked to my Dad", Duncan lied, certain that Mr. Rotter would not easily accept a 'vision-quest' as a reliable source. Then the bell rang.

xxXXxx

Cupid was feeling down. Not only was she leaving, but it seemed her friends were avoiding her. Maybe they were mad at her for leaving? Anyway, she was sad as she and the school station manager finished setting up the computerized random rotation of the recordings of her old shows. School was almost out for the day when she left the station.

She wheeled her steamer-trunk behind her as she headed for Ms. Le Fey's class. She was so depressed as she walked that she didn't see anyone I front of her until she almost bumped into Cleo.

"You didn't **really** think we would let you leave without saying good-bye did you, Cupid?", Cleo smirked. Cupid looked up and saw Deuce with Cleo, and all along the hallway were her friends and all the many couples she had helped get together or stay together! They all broke into applause, and many had tears in their eyes. As she walked down the hall, all of them thanked her for her help.

"We're so happy", Wydowna Spider said, hugging Scotty Stinger; who smiled. "All thanks to you, Cupid. And I'm glad you love the dress I made you", the spider ghoul added as she saw that Cupid was wearing the spider-silk dress she'd made in gratitude.

"I can't thank you enough" Raythe smiled in gratitude.

" **We** can't thank you enough", Twyla corrected, her arm wrapped around his and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Luv", Robecca said, DJ by her side. "If you could help even a ghoul like **me** find love, then love truly does conquer all, and in more ways than one." Robecca leaned in and whispered in Cupid's ear. The demi-goddess' eyes went wide.

"I'm so happy for you both!", she said, hugging Robecca and DJ together, to his mild confusion.

Cupid's heart swelled at the outpouring of gratitude and support from everyone. She had tears streaming down her smiling face as she reached the magick classroom. On either side of the doorway stood Clawd & Draculaura and Duncan & Clawdeen.

"Even though the plan with your crossbow and arrows kinda backfired", Clawd began.

"You still helped save me from Valentine and keep me and my sweet puppy together", Draculaura finished, cuddling up to Clawd.

"It wouldn't have worked if you two didn't already truly love each other", Cupid smiled. Then she turned to Duncan and Clawdeen.

"I was in a really dark and painful place when I first came here", Duncan said. "I almost passed by the new love that I—literally—ran into. You helped me find the courage not only to ask Clawdeen out, but also tell her my secrets. Thank you."

"And I had a hard time admittin' my feelings, even to myself", Clawdeen smiled. "You and the rest of my ghouls knocked some sense into me. And now, I've never been happier."

"You both deserve to be happy", Cupid told them. The door to the classroom opened, Headmistress Bloodgood was inside with Ms. Le Fey and her class.

"Your friends arranged for this send-off for you with my permission, Cupid", Grace smiled warmly. "Good luck and much success where you are going. May you help as many there as you did here, and more."

"Thank you, Ms. Bloodgood", she said, hugging the Headmistress. Then she hugged Ms. Le Fey. "And thank you for all your help."

"Not at all, dear", the elder witch smiled. "The class and I have already performed the spell. The mirror portal is ready when you are."

Cupid turned back to all her friends with a smile and bittersweet tears in her eyes.

"Thank you all! I'll miss you! Good-Bye, Everyone!"

She turned to the glowing mirror. Took a deep breath. And stepped through.

Cupid found herself in the middle of a sunny courtyard, with many teens milling around her.

"Hello there!", a cheery voice said. Cupid turned to see two very beautiful girls; a blue-eyed blonde in red and white, and black & purple tressed and dressed girl with a creamy-white complexion and magenta eyes.

"Welcome to Ever After High!", the blonde smiled. "I'm Apple White, and this is Raven Queen."

"Hey", Raven smiled.

"Thank you", Cupid smiled. "It's nice to meet you both. I'm Chariclo Arganthone Cupid."

xxXXxx

"What was that all about, Robecca?", DJ asked, still confused by Cupid's outburst after Robecca whispered to her.

Robecca smiled at her boyfriend and took his hand, walking away with him as the farewell to Cupid broke up.

"DJ, how can you love a machine like me?", she asked him seriously.

"You're not just a machine, Robecca", he said, looking lovingly into her eyes. "You're warm and alive, and you feel so good in my arms. You love me for who I am, so how can I feel any less for you?"

"But don't you have….needs?"

"Let me worry about that", he said, blushing slightly. "Just know that I will **never** cheat on you."

"What about the future?", she asked him.

"I want to spend it with you", he said. "If you'll have me."

"Even with no hope of having a family?"

"Yes", he said honestly. "Besides, there are other ways if we want to have children one day. I love you, Robecca, with all my heart."

Robecca's heart swelled. He loved her for who she was, just as she loved him.

"I love you, too, DJ", she smiled, handing him the letter from her father. Still a bit confused, he took it and began to read. His jaw dropped and his eyes went wide.

"Did you….? Can we….?", he stammered, to see her nodding with a look that seemed equal parts coy and naughty.

"No pressure, Luv", she said, embracing him. "We'll just let it happen when it happens, ok?"

"Sure", he smiled, and kissed her deeply. "See you tonight at the party?"

"Of course! I can't wait to see all the new looks Clawdeen, Jinafire, and Skelita came up with for all of us for the party!"

xxXXxx

The Monster High Halloween Party is one of the few events in which the two sides of town mingle; although the hardcore 'hater' normies tended to stay home, which worked out well for the trick-or-treaters. The normies wore costumes, masks, and make-up; the monsters wearing their newest fashions. The three fierce fashionistas out-did themselves for all their friends; the guys and ghouls looking their best.

Margaret was dressed as a witch, mingling with the monster and normie parents in attendance. Among them were Chad's parents, who had taken a liking to Jinafire when they met her. They had even invited her to join them for Thanksgiving! Jin was flattered that Chad had dressed in a tai-chi uniform and made himself up as a male version of her, complete with a phony dragon tail.

DJ and Kenny followed his lead, dressing up as male counterparts to their ghoulfriends.

"Fangtastic!", Frankie giggled when she saw Kenny; with his impeccable make-up job and costume trimmed with lightning bolts and stitch-patterns. "You've never looked better, Kenny!"

"Same to you, Sweetie", he grinned, checking out her dress: black & white, low-cut and trimmed with lightning bolts and the skirt split from the floor almost to her left hip.

"Oh wow, Robecca", DJ said when he saw her. She turned with a smile. She wore a leather-corsetted satin and lace dress; thigh-length in front trailing down to almost floor-length in back and a small top-hat on her head decorated with her goggles.

"Wow yourself, DJ", she smiled. He was wearing a white dress-shirt and grey pants, boots, vest, bowler-hat with goggles, a mock-up of Prof. Steam's bronze arm and hand, and a copy of one of his clock-work canes.

Holt and Claire were working the DJ table, the dancing and mingling was in full swing, as were the party-games. Lee and his friends Miguel and Jamal, had just dropped a gizmo into the cauldron of apples and stepped back to a safe distance. Lee had his smartphone in his hand. He would tap it whenever random monsters or normies went to bob for apples; whenever he did, water would explode out and splash them and nearby people. The boys laughed every time until Lagoona found the gizmo and removed it.

"Reow. That was sneaky, underhanded, and hilarious", a feminine voice said behind them. They turned to see three werecats. "I gotta admit, I admire it. The name's Toralei. This is Moewlody and Purrsephone."

"I'm Lee", the Asian boy dressed as the Monkey King said as he kissed her hand, then turned to his friends. "These are my homies: Jamal(dressed as a soldier) and Miguel(dressed as Zorro). You might say, we're the prankster prince and his jokers of New Salem High."

"Really?", Toralei purred, wrapping her arm around Lee's as the twins did the same with his friends. "We should talk, monkee-boy."

"You really outdid yourself, Clawdeen", Duncan said as he danced with her. She was gore-geous in her tight black off-the-shoulder mini-dress trimmed with black lace and silver crescent moons & stars. He was wearing his usual sandals and black cargo pants. With those he was wearing a green dress-shirt; sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a new sleeveless long black-leather coat styled like biker jacket and trimmed with studs and spikes. Clawdeen had made the shirt and coat especially for him.

"Thanks, Handsome", she smiled. "You look clawsome."

"Not half as good as you", he grinned, and gave a deep, passionate kiss. As they embraced, he extended his wings and flapped until they were hovering over the dance-floor, so they were dancing in mid-air.

Abby really liked the new dress Jinafire had made her for the party; ice-blue and silver short dress with white faux fur trim. The party was lively, but the young yeti found her thoughts constantly returning to her absent boyfriend. Although Heath had been video-chatting with her regularly, along with calls and texts, she missed him terribly. Their relationship was…..strange to say the least—literally like fire and ice—but they loved each other dearly. Smiling, she took out her iCoffin to call him, but found that she had no signal; the Hall of Halloween was too deep in the catacombs. She headed for the exit to go outside and call Heath. What she didn't notice was the large cloaked figure who followed her. She decided to go all the way outside the school to get the clearest signal. She began to dial Heath….

"Greetings and bienvenue, Abby Bominable", an overly cordial voice said from behind her. She turned to see a large adult male yeti.

"Who are you?", Abby asked suspiciously. "And how do you know Abby?"

"Please, my dear", he said smoothly. "You are the only other yeti in this entire region, so I would know you on sight. As for who I am; my name is Argost. I have…..history with your family."

Abby's eyes widened. Her grandfather had told her stories of the criminal yeti Argost when she was small! She took a defensive stance, and he grinned.

"I see you recognise me", he smirked. "Good. That will make this all the sweeter."

"What you want?", she demanded, her eyes narrowing.

"To kill you with my bare hands", he said, sending a blast of ice at her legs, freezing her in place. "And add your powers to my own. The revenge on your grandfather, however, is a nice bonus."

Abby struggled, and the ice trapping her legs began to crack. She sent an icy blast of her own at him as he charged at her, but he blocked it with his forearms. She broke free just before he reached, enabling her to throw a punch at him; which he caught in his hand, much to her surprise! Female yetis are normally much stronger than their male counterparts, despite males being physically larger. But here was Argost easily matching and overwhelming her strength!

With his other fist, he punched her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her. He then slammed her to the ground by her own fist, which he still had a grip on. Then he back-handed her, sending her flying into a nearby wall.

"Don't worry; I'll make it quick, my dear", he smirked as he lifted his semi-concious victim by her throat. "Just one quick snap and it will all be over."

"HEY, FROSTY!"

Argost looked up in surprise, but was tackled from the air before he even saw his assailant. They tumbled several times before the yeti found himself picked up a hurled against a nearby tree! He looked up to see a red-orange dragon-boy squaring off with him, wings retracting into his back.

"Clawdeen, get Abby out of here!", he said. "I got this!"

Argost saw a werewolf ghoul ran over to Abby and help her up. "Are you sure you don't need my help?", she asked.

"I'll be fine! Get her out of here and get help!"

"You got it, Hot-Stuff", she said, letting Abby lean on her as they went back down to the party to get help. "Easy, Abby. Lucky for you, Duncan and I saw that guy following you."

"You're going to regret interfering, firebreather!", Argost growled.

"Yeah-yeah, blah-blah-blah", Duncan scoffed. "Heard it all before way too many times. And I'm still here."

"Not for long", Argost sneered. "Take this!"

The yeti sent a huge blast of cold at Duncan, trapping him in a block of ice. Argost grinned at his handiwork…..until the block began to quake and crack….and finally exploded!

"Impossible! No dragon should have been able to escape from an ice tomb like that so quickly!", Argost sputtered.

"That's because I'm **not** a dragon, ice-for-brains!", Duncan snarled, as Clawdeen and many other party-goers began to arrive. "I am Prince Duncan Rosenblatt! Son of Belloc, King of the Kaiju!"

For the first time in his long life, Argost felt the icy talons of fear clutch his heart. Belloc was King for a reason; he was the most powerful monster in the world! His fire was said to exceed that of hell itself! If this boy was his son….!

Argost launched another intense sustained blast of cold; which Duncan countered with a powerful stream of fire, causing a veritable explosion of steam. Argost switched to firing sharp icicles at the Kaiju Prince, which he easily dodged as he charged toward the yeti.

Argost erected an ice barrier, which Duncan easily smashed through with his left fist; which followed through to punch Argost in the gut. Duncan then delivered a devastating uppercut, sending Argost flying into the same wall he had slammed Abby into.

Argost staggered to his feet as Duncan approached. He had only one chance left, if the boy was foolish enough to come too close….

"Nobody messes with my friends", Duncan said, seizing Argost by the throat and holding him against the wall. Argost was broken and bloody. One more punch would knock him out for the authorities. But before Duncan could finish him, Argost grinned and slammed the claws of his right hand into Duncan's chest and projected the most intense cold he could through them and into the wound.

"Aaaaaaauuuuuuggh!", Duncan screamed as he was encased in ice yet again.

Before he could celebrate, Argost was slammed to the ground by a snarling Clawdeen; who rained slashing claws and devastating punches on the yeti. She didn't stop until he was a barely breathing bloody mess. She heard ice cracking and turned just in time to see Duncan shatter his ice coffin. He took a few unsteady steps forward.

"You ok, Hot-stuff?", Clawdeen asked.

"Sure, Sweetie", he said, his breath frosting from his mouth, just before his eyes rolled back in his head and he began to collapse, "no probleeeeemmmm….."

"Duncan!", Clawdeen and Margaret both screamed. Clawdeen reached him first, and gasped when she touched him. "H-he's c-cold! He's **never** cold!"

"He's still breathing!", Margaret breathed.

"Let's get him to the clinic!", Frankie's dad said urgently.

"I'm staying with him!", Clawdeen cried.

"Dr. Pytell?", Margaret spoke urgently into her smartphone. "It's an emergency! Grab all of Duncan's medical records and meet me at the Monster Medical Clinic in New Salem!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: BUM-bum-BUUUUUMMMMM! What did that last attack do to Duncan? How bad is he hurt? Will he be ok? Wait and see!**

 **A tearfully fond farewell for C.A. Cupid, but we will see her again! And how about that howling good Halloween Party, huh? Lee and his friends are my OC's and a treat for kival737101, who is a big fan of Toralei! Enjoy, buddy!**

 **xxXXxx**


	38. Chapter 37

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter we see the aftermath of the battle with Argost! As usual, I do not own Firebreather or Monster High._**

Chapter 37

"We need to get him stable!", Dr. Viktor Stein said as they arrived at the clinic, and he placed the unconscious form of Duncan on an exam table.

"I'll fire up the diagnostic gear!", Viveka said. "You start examining him, Dear!"

"Duncan, please- **please** be all right!", Clawdeen whispered as Frankie and Margaret supported her from either side.

A few minutes later, a MEGTAF V.T.O.L. landed outside. Col. Barnes and Dr. Pytell rushed in. Normally, the Steins—like most monsters—did not trust MEGTAF; but as his primary care physician practically since his birth, no one knew more about Duncan's physiology than Dr. Pytell.

"We got here fast as we could", Barnes said. "How's the kid?"

"Drs. Viktor and Viveka Stein?", Pytell said in greeting, "I'm Dr. Pytell, a great admirer of your work. I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances. What can you tell me about Duncan's condition?"

"He was struck with an intense blast of cold that has penetrated his core", Viveka stated. "His temperature continues to drop slowly, despite our all efforts to warm him back up."

"That's really bad", Dr. Pytell paled. "His 'inner-fire' should make that impossible. I have his records here on this compressed flash-drive…."

"You can plug it in here", Viktor said, indicating a nearby computer. Once plugged in, the files were slow to unpack.

"Let me speed this up", DJ said, placing a hand on the computer, projecting his will through his cybernetics; giving the computer access to the processing power of his brain. Instantly, the files unpacked and began to open and display on various screens in the room.

As the doctors poured over the records and diagnostic data, Barnes walked over to Margaret and the others.

"I'm sure he'll be ok, Margaret", he said. "The kid's too stubborn **not** to bounce back."

"I hope so, Barnes", she replied. "Nothing like this has ever happened to him before."

"You must be Clawdeen", Barnes said, turning to her. "I'm Col. Barnes. I've kinda been his guardian angel since he was a kid."

"Duncan's told me about you", she said, shaking his hand. "He said you're a stand-up guy…..when you're not being a pain in the ass." She smirked a little on that last line. Barnes chuckled a little at that.

"Yeah, the feeling is mutual", he replied. "He's a decent kid with a good heart, and he's caused me more headaches than I care to admit."

"Margaret?", Dr. Pytell said, as she, Viktor and Viveka approached. "We've done a full-body scan, and it's not good. The ice inside him is not only spreading, but it's also slowly penetrating deeper into his core. Unless we can find a way to stop it and re-kindle his inner-fire, he won't last another day."

"NO!", Clawdeen cried.

"Isn't there **anything** you can do?", Margaret pleaded.

"Nothing we've tried so far has worked", Viveka said dejectedly.

"Much as I hate to suggest this", Barnes began. "But maybe Belloc could help?"

Margaret's eyes suddenly lit up with hope, and she pulled out her amulet.

"Belloc, please answer! Duncan is in danger!", she spoke to the gem. A few moments later, it projected an image of Belloc's face.

" **What has happened to our son?** ", he rumbled. The Steins and Dr. Pytell relayed what had happened and Duncan's current condition and prognosis. The King of the kaijus growled in thought.

"This has happened before in the past to others of our kind", he told them. "Under normal circumstances, a lava-bath would set things right fairly quickly. But as Duncan is only **half** -kaiju; in his weakened state, such a rapid change could kill him."

"What about hot-water?", Frankie asked.

"Smart girl", Belloc smiled. "That could work, but it would require the water to be maintained at a constant, stable boiling temperature for an extended period of time; long enough to restore him."

"And we have no way of doing that at a constant, stable temperature for very long", Viktor frowned.

Clawdeen was about to cry, when an idea came to her.

"What about a hot-spring?", she asked urgently. "Nature can do what machines and plumbing can't!"

"Yes! That could work!", Belloc rumbled with a grin. "Brilliant idea, Clawdeen. Indeed, my son has chosen his mate well."

Frankie was on her iCoffin, calling the one ghoul who knew more about the catacombs than anyone.

"Hey, Frankie! What can I do ya for?", Operetta asked when she answered.

"Operetta, if **anyone** would know, it's you! Is there a hot-spring in the catacombs anywhere near the school?", Frankie asked urgently. "We need one to save Duncan's life!"

"I'm your huckleberry!", she replied. "Yup! Meet me in the student lounge and I'll take ya right to it!"

"Ok! See you there!", and Frankie hung up.

"The V.T.O.L. will get us to the school fastest", Barnes said.

"I'll carry Duncan", Clawdeen said, scooping him up in the same way he had carried her so many times.

xxXXxx

"Thanks for leading us here, Operetta", Clawdeen said as they arrived in the hot-spring chamber. It seemed that the ancient builders of the catacombs had specifically built and adapted the chamber for use as a thermal bath; pillars and stone benches all around the main pool.

"Shucks, Sugah", Operetta grinned. "Ain't nothin' to it! He's mah friend, and he's done so much for all of us. I'll wait just outside to guide y'all back."

Clawdeen set Duncan down on a stone bench as Operetta and Frankie left to wait outside the chamber. The werewolf then stripped her mate down to his boxer-briefs while his mother carefully folded his clothes and put them aside, and the three doctors took his vital signs one last time. Clawdeen then carefully lifted Duncan and lowered him slowly into the scalding hot water. The pool had apparently been engineered so that individuals could sit around the perimeter in the water, so only his head was above the surface in a corner of the pool. This was perfect, as anyone could easily watch him for signs of consciousness.

"Not much more we can do here", Viveka said.

"Yes, I must regretfully agree", Viktor said. "We have other patients staying in the clinic, and all this moisture is dangerous around our electricity."

"I can check on Duncan easily enough", Dr. Pytell volunteered. "And I'd like to help you in your clinic while I'm in town, if you don't mind? I could learn a lot from you."

The Steins considered her offer. On the one hand, they didn't completely trust MEGTAF. On the other hand, Dr. Pytell was a medical doctor as well as a scientist, and thus lived by the same code of ethics. And it **would** be easier for Pytell to check on Duncan on a twice daily basis. The husband and wife nodded to each other.

"Very well, Dr. Pytell", Viveka said. "We accept your gracious offer."

"But we will hold you to the same level of confidentiality as any doctor treating patients", Viktor said. "Understood?"

"Of course", she agreed. "After all, I **am** a doctor first, and MEGTAF scientist second."

"Good", Clawdeen said. "Now that that's settled; I'm staying here."

Margaret looked a bit concerned, "Clawdeen, are you su….?"

" **I am** **_NOT_** **leaving his side!** ", she insisted with a soft growl, then she took a calming breath. "Margaret, please tell the Headmistress and my parents what's going on, and have my mom send me down a change of clothes or three; plus some supplies? I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course, dear", Margaret said gratefully, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For staying with my son", she said. "And for loving him."

xxXXxx

Word of Duncan's condition spread quickly through the school, especially once Spectra got the story. Headmistress Bloodgood arranged for Clawdeen to receive any homework or class assignments she needed, as well as sending her best wishes. Clawd brought his sister some changes of clothes, as well as a supply of drinking water and some food. Dr. Pytell came down every morning and evening to check Duncan's pulse and breathing. The entire school was pulling for Duncan, hoping for a speedy recovery.

Days had passed with very little change. While the progression of the ice inside him seemed to have at least slowed, Duncan was still just barely clinging to life.

Clawdeen was able to get small amounts of water, broth, and vegetable oil into him. Dr. Pytell suggested the oil as a substitute for the coal and charcoal he normally ingested with his food. She stayed by his side day and night, resting only when exhaustion overtook her. Even then, she slept right next to him, oblivious to the unyielding stone she laid upon. She also spoke softly to him, begging him not to leave her, to come back to her.

Each of their friends stopped in to visit at different times, often bringing food or water with them; Howleen brought her a pillow and sleeping bag, which she set up poolside right next to him.

She had just awakened a short time ago. After she'd checked on Duncan, she went to a side-pool which was a more tolerable temperature to freshen up. She'd just finished dressing when she heard foot-steps approaching from outside.

"Ugh! Too hot down here for Abby!", the yeti scoffed.

"Abby!", Clawdeen rushed to hug her friend. "It's so good to see you! I'm so glad you're ok."

"Thanks to Duncan", Abby admitted. "Hard to admit, but mean yeti Argost was too much for Abby. Duncan really save my life. How he doingk?"

"No change", Clawdeen said sadly.

"Eh, not worry", Abby said supportively. "Duncan is **_strong!_** Wakink up soon to give you huggink and kissink."

"Thanks, Abby", Clawdeen said with a small smile.

"Ah! Almost forgettink!", Abby said, holding up a large hot-drink cup. "Havink your chocolate coffee drink!"

"Oh. My. Ghoul!", Clawdeen gushed as she took the cup. "Thank you so much, Abby! I needed this!"

Abby smiled as her friend took a large sip from her latte.

"Must be goingk to class now", Abby smiled.

"Thanks again, Abby", Clawdeen smiled. "Visit again soon, ok?"

Abby nodded, then headed out; passing by Dr. Pytell on the way in.

"So how are you doing, Clawdeen?", she asked cheerfully as she went to Duncan.

"I'm ok", she answered. She found the normie doctor's perky attitude refreshing, very similar to Draculaura. "So how's my guy?"

"No change yet", she replied after taking his vitals. "But on the bright side, he's not worse."

Clawdeen sighed dejectedly, prompting Dr. Pytell to look at her in concern.

"You look exhausted, Clawdeen", she said. "I understand how you feel, but would **he** want you to push yourself like this?"

Clawdeen didn't answer, but she knew the doctor was right. Pytell gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Just try to get more rest, ok? See you tonight."

xxXXxx

Argost glowered at his werewolf guards. Shackled as he was with heated restraints, they could easily tear him apart if he tried anything during transport. Bad enough that the prince of the kaiju had stopped him from killing Abby Bominable and defeated him, but his werewolf ghoulfriend had beaten and clawed him to within an inch of his life! On top of that, he was being charged with attempted murder of a fellow yeti and a crown prince who was also the life-mate of the Alpha of all Werewolves! Because of the bond between the two royals, the werewolves were given the task of transporting and imprisoning him until his trial and probable execution.

The transport van suddenly lurched and flipped on it's side! The driver and 'shotgun' leaped out of the front, and could be heard struggling with someone or something, until there were two whining yelps. The transport doors were blasted off. The smoke cleared to reveal a grinning Torq! The snarling werewolves leaped out at him…..only to be tasered by the Horde. Torq climbed into the transport with the keys he took from a guard, and removed Argost's restraints.

"Come with me, Mr. Argost", the hobgoblin said, stepping back outside. Argost followed suit, and stretched once he was outside.

"Not that I'm not grateful", the cultured criminal yeti said, "but why should I go anywhere with you?"

"My employers wanna talk to ya", Torq smirked. "They got big plans, and they think you could be a big part a' that."

"I am no one's lackey", the yeti growled.

"Perish the thought, my dear Argost", said Vlad Plasmius as he stepped out of the darkness, followed by Revolta, Lord Stoker, and Remus Darkclaw. "We're here to offer you a place at the table!"

xxXXxx

Clawdeen had taken a short nap and was now doing some of her schoolwork on a stone bench close to Duncan. Her friends and siblings had been good about bringing her assignments, loaning her notes, and taking her completed work back to their teachers. She had just finished her bite-ology homework and closed her textbook when Duncan moaned softly. Clawdeen was by his side in a heartbeat!

"Duncan?"

He moaned again….."J-Jenna?"

Clawdeen's heart clenched and her eyes teared up. If he was seeing **her** …..? She pressed her forehead against his.

 _"Please! Send him back to me!"_ , her throat tightened as she drew in a halted breath. _"Please!"_

She fought fang and claw not to lose herself to despair. It took several moments for her to gather herself, and leaned down to bring her lips to his ear.

"I love you, Duncan."

He stirred slightly, and moaned softly again. It was close enough for her. She laid down to watch over him, until she drifted off to sleep…..

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Wolves are known for being loyal; to their pack, and to their mates. As the Alpha of all Werewolves, Clawdeen is no exception!**

 **Duncan's coma and near-death experience is inspired by a similar scenario written by cgsmithmo in his romantic/adventure masterwork "The Dragon Master and the Snow Queen", crossing "How to Train Your Dragon" with "Frozen"; an AWESOME READ! Check it out if you haven't already!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	39. Chapter 38

**_Hey, Everyone! The new OC; Joe Osmos, belongs to anime-death-angel, and used with his permission!_**

Chapter 38

Duncan was floating in darkness. He felt chilled to the bone; an unpleasant sensation he had never felt before, not even when encased in ice. Then he felt wrapped in soothing heat that kept the cold from getting worse. He was still disoriented, he couldn't tell up from down. Yet he felt…..safe…..watched over. And a faint voice from time to time….. _my love_ … _don't leave_ ….. _come back to me_ ….. Who was it? Wait! He knew that voice…Clawdeen! Just as quickly, it slipped away and he was drifting again.

He saw a faint light ahead….which got bigger and brighter as he got closer. He was only steps away, when several titanic forms were suddenly and vaguely outlined in the light.

" **Duncan….Son of Belloc** ", one deep rumbling voice said.

" **You** ** _must_** **go back** ", another said.

" **It is** ** _not_** **your time** ", a third said.

"But I'm so tired", Duncan said. "And so cold. The light feels so warm."

" **No, you still have much work to do** ", the first voice said.

" **But if you will not listen to us** ", a deep rumbling feminine voice said, " **perhaps you will listen to** ** _her_**."

A human-sized figure stepped out of the light and became clear and very familiar.

"J-Jenna?!", Duncan stammered.

"Hi, Duncan", she smiled. Then tilted her head, as if to hear better when the faint voice of Clawdeen returned.

 _"Please! Send him back to me! Please!"_

Jenna nodded with a knowing smile and looked back to Duncan.

"She loves you very much", Jenna smiled.

"And I love her. She's very special to me", he smiled, then he looked apologetic. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be", Jenna smiled warmly. "That's why I sent her to you."

"Y-you sent…?"

"Of course", she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't want you to mourn me the rest of your life, so the higher-ups allowed me to give Fate….a little nudge. Besides, the world needs you…..both of you…..together….if it is to survive."

"What?", he said, confused.

"You'll see as things unfold", she grinned. "Go back, Duncan. It's not your time yet."

"I love you, Jenna", he said tearfully. "I'm sorry I never told you before."

"I love you, too, Duncan", she replied with a smile. "Now….let me go…..and go back to her."

He nodded, and the darkness swirled around him and pulled him away for the light and those he had seen.

xxXXxx

He's been on the run for months; ever since that bastard tried to drag him into MEGTAF to copy and weaponize his powers and blamed him for the death of his mother when she helped him escape! He's had several close calls, even after getting lost in the monster community. A few monsters who'd helped him told him about New Salem, and Monster High. Maybe there he could finally stop running and use his powers to hide in plain sight among the various monsters.

He had made it to New Salem last night, and camped out of sight in the Whispering Woods; the sprites, gnomes and pixies welcomed him kindly. Now in the morning light, he was approaching Monster High from the woods. The castle-like school was an awesome sight! And so many different kinds of monsters as students. Smiling, he touched a tree, and his flesh took on the properties of the tree! His skin became like the bark, with his tattoos remaining visible, and his dark hair became green and resembled the moss, leaves, and lichens on the tree; only longer and tied back into a pony-tail.

"Ok, Monster High", he said to himself. "Time to meet your newest student."

xxXXxx

Duncan woke to blurry vision. He took stock of himself, and realized he was sitting in a hot-spring. He heard some very familiar soft snoring to his right. He turned to look, his vision slowly clearing. Clawdeen. His mate was curled up in a sleeping bag right beside him, outside the pool, her luscious chocolate locks covering half of her beautiful face. He smiled and reached up—slowly, not wanting to wake her—and gently stroked the offending locks back and away from her face. Water dripped from his fingers onto her nose. She briefly scrunched up her nose, and opened her eyes and looked at him sleepily.

"Hi", he rasped through his dry throat with a warm smile.

"Hi", she answered back dreamily, then her eyes snapped wide open. "Duncan!"

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, not stopping until they both needed air for fear of it not being real.

"Thank the Great Mother!", she cried. "I was afraid I'd lost you!"

"As someone I love with all my heart once said to me; you're not getting rid of me that easy, Beautiful", he rasped with a smirk. "Please tell me you have some water? My throat feels like the Scare-izona desert."

She grabbed a bottle as he stood up in the pool. He was still weak and unsteady, and so dropped to his knees on the submerged 'bench', leaning against the pool-side. She helped him drink.

"Thanks", he said gratefully. "I really needed that. How long was I out?"

"Almost a week", she said, then punched him lightly in the chest! "And don't you **ever** scare me like that again, you magnificent idiot!"

"OK! Ok!", he chuckled. "Almost a week? Were you here the whole time?"

"No way was I gonna leave your side", she smirked.

"I love you, too, Clawdeen", he smiled. "So what happened to me? How'd I get here? Last thing I remember, I was fighting that Argost guy and just broke out a block of ice. (He looked down, and blushed a little) And why am I in my underwear?"

"Weeeeeellll….", she cringed and blushed as she reached for her iCoffin.

xxXXxx

The rest of the guys and ghouls were gathered around the fountain talking as usual before class. Venus McFlytrap was up on a ladder, taking down the last of the Halloween decorations, when Toralei and the twins thought it would be funny to shake the ladder and scare her.

"Hey!", she yelled down. "Quite it, Toralei! I'm gonna fall!"

"Relax, Miss Environmental-Activist!", the werecat laughed, still shaking the ladder. "It's just a jo….?!

Venus fell, screaming on the way down, expecting a painful landing…..which never came as she felt herself caught by strong arms. She opened her eyes to see a kind pair of brown eyes looking back into hers.

"Are you ok?", he asked.

"Uh….um….I…", she stammered as she looked at his handsome face, then looked him up & down when he set her on her feet. He was the strongest, most handsome tree-monster she'd ever seen and she blushed. "Um…..yeah! I'm ok. I haven't seen you before. Who are you?"

"Yeah, I'm new here", he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "The name's Joe; Joe Osmos. Where do I go the get enrolled?"

"Venus McFlytrap. Let me take you to the Headmistress", she smiled, wrapping her arm around his. "It's the least I can do for you saving me."

Back at the fountain. Clawd's iCoffin howled. He read the text, and looked confused.

"I think my sister is starting to over-do it", he said. "She's asking me to bring her two double chocolate coffincino lattes instead of just her usual one."

"That **is** weird", Draculaura said, then her eyes widened slightly. "Unless…..!"

Suddenly, everyone in their group got a text at that moment:

 _"Duncan is AWAKE!"_

A collective cheer went up, and Spectra opened her laptop to post the good news. Clawd grinned as he ran to the creepateria to get the requested lattes and take them down to the reunited couple.

"This is spooktackular news!", Frankie said, happy that her boyfriend's brother was ok.

"I know, right?", DJ said. "I bet they're calling his mom and Kenny right now, if they haven't already!"

xxXXxx

"Well the whole school's gonna know in just a few minutes", Clawdeen smirked.

"Great", Duncan smiled. "We better call my mom and the doctors?"

"Already dialing, Sweetie", she winked.

"Clawdeen?", Margaret sounded anxious when she answered. "Is everything ok?"

"More than ok, Margaret", the werewolf said excitedly. "Duncan is awake and talking!"

"Is he really?!"

"Hear for yourself", she smiled, handing her iCoffin to him.

"Hi, Mom", he smiled.

"Duncan!", Margaret gushed in relief. "I'll be right there! I'll bring Dr. Pytell to check you over!"

"Ok, Mom", he accepted. "But could you bring me a pair of board shorts, too, Mom?"

"Sure, baby", she chuckled before hanging up.

xxXXxx

"Did somebody order a couple of lattes?", Clawd said cheerfully as he entered.

"Thanks a million, bro!", Clawdeen said, taking the coffees from him and handing one to Duncan in the pool.

"How ya feelin', Champ?", Clawd asked Duncan.

"Ok, considering I've been simmering in this pool for almost a week", he laughed. "Still weak, but I'm on the mend."

"Clawsome", Clawd said, fist-bumping his friend.

"Duncan!", Margaret called as she entered and rushed forward to hug her son, followed by Dr. Pytell. "I called Kenny. He'll be here after school."

"Well, Duncan, you're looking a lot better than you did last night", Dr. Pytell said perkily. "Now that you're awake, I can check your vitals more thoroughly."

"Ok, Doc", he said. "But can I make a quick change first?"

He took the clean board-shorts from his mom and swam to another part of the hot-spring. He returned a few minutes later.

"Ok, I'm all yours, Doc."

Pytell checked his pulse, blood-pressure, respiration, and used a portable thermal scanner to check his core temperature.

"So how'm I doin', Doc?", he asked.

"Well all your vitals are stronger", she said approvingly. "And your core temperature has improved, but no where near normal yet. All in all, I'd say you'll only get better from here! I think you should stay here a few more days, though….get your fire up and roaring again."

"Ok", he nodded. "And now, I **seriously** need some **_food!_** "

"Gotcha covered, Duncan", Margaret smirked, and placed a large paper bag on the side of the pool for him. "A foot-long spicy breakfast burrito, large spicy fries, and a large pineapple juice from your favorite breakfast place, plus a couple charcoal briquettes."

"You're a life-saver, Mom!", he smiled as he dug in.

xxXXxx

Joe was rather pleased with himself. Enrolling had been easy, and Venus volunteered to be his guide until he got his own schedule. He was going mostly unnoticed thanks to the sudden recovery of the school's hero from some bad injury or something. Unnoticed was exactly how he wanted to be, blending in, one of the crowd…

"Oof! Sorry, dude, my bad", DJ said after bumping into him. DJ?! What the hell is he doing here?! And what's with all the metal on him? Be cool!

"It's cool, don't worry about it", Joe said. DJ looked at him intently, then shook his head. "Something wrong?"

"Nah. You just really remind me of an old friend of mine", he said, and held out his hand. "I'm DJ Troniquez."

"Joe Osmos", Joe laughed nervously. "I get that all the time."

"We better get to class, Joe", Venus said sweetly.

"Right", he agreed quickly. "Nice to meet you, DJ."

"Likewise", DJ said, stroking his chin in thought as he watched the two plant monsters leave.

xxXXxx

"Really, Clawdeen, I'll be fine", Duncan said. "I woke up. You don't have to watch over me now."

"I'm not leaving until you do", she said firmly, then gave him a sultry look. "If you think about it, it could be **_fun_**."

"You might have a point", he grinned. "Too bad this water is too hot for you. I'm gonna be doing a lot of laps in here to get my strength back."

"Yeah", she smirked, snaking her arms around his neck to pull him int a deep, tongue-wrestling kiss. "If only there was another pool here that's just perfect for me. Oh, wait! There is! Right over there", she motioned with her head over her shoulder.

"Hmmmmm", he grinned. "Dr. Pytell **did** say I need to exercise, she never said I couldn't have a **partner**."

xxXXxx

"It's been a busy morning today", Bloodgood said, closing the new file in front of her. "You're the second new student to enroll today, Ms. DeVille."

"Well, I'm not surprised! What with all the wonderful things I've heard about Monster High. And please, call me DeMona."

"Very well, DeMona. Lagoona here will be your guide until you have your bearings and your own schedule."

"No Problem, mate", Lagoona smiled. "Glad to help."

"Welcome to Monster High, DeMona DeVille!", Bloodgood said enthusiastically, shaking the hand of the new student.

"Thank you", Lilith said with a grin. "I look forward to learning a lot here."

xxXXxx

At lunchtime, all the guys and ghouls came down to visit Duncan. DJ brought him his lunch; footlong steak&cheese sub with pickles&BBQ sauce, spicy fries, a large Dark Cherry DraCola, and a lump of charcoal.

"So this new plant-monster student looks like Joe?", Duncan asked, remembering their old friend.

"Almost identical", DJ said. "Also the same style and even similar tattoos from what I saw. His first name is Joe, too."

"That's one hell of a coincidence", Duncan said suspiciously.

"Blah-blah", Abby scoffed, then smirked. "Boys vorry too much. Am thinkink plant-ghoul Venus has crush."

"Yeah", Frankie smiled knowingly. "You should see how she looks at him!"

"Never thought I'd see the day Venus was bloom-over-roots for a guy", Clawdeen giggled. "But good for her!"

xxXXxx

The last bell for the day rang, letting all the students out. Lilith had already learned some very notable and worrying information. First was that two new classes had started that year; to help ghost monsters and magick-users to not only become more powerful, but also how to **fight** with those powers! Second, the teachers of those classes were none other than Dani Phantom; one of three very powerful human/ghost hybrids, and Boodika Le Fey; the most powerful witch in the world! Finally, that the son of Medusa; Deuce Gorgon, was still in attendance at MH. His powers would make him an **_extremely_** dangerous opponent in any action against the monsters!

After exiting the school, Lilith spread her wings and flew back to her uncle's mansion to report, before going to the "home address" she gave the school. Her fake identity was extremely thorough, as per her Uncle Van's instructions. 'DeMona DeVille' would withstand virtually any level of scrutiny, even a surprise visit from classmates!

xxXXxx

"Ugh", Duncan complained, tapping his Hiss-tory book with his pencil. "All this make-up work is gonna kill me! Is it too late to go back into a coma?"

"Don't even joke about that, Handsome", Clawdeen admonished him. "I came way too close to losing you! Don't worry, we're all gonna help you catch up."

"Dinner", Margaret called as she entered with DJ, Kenny, and Frankie.

"Thank the Mother Goddess!", Duncan said, closing the book on his paper and pencil and putting them aside. "I needed a break!"

"Duncan!", Kenny called, as he and DJ ran over to the pool to fist-bump their best friend. "Good to see you back, Bro!"

"Careful, guys", Duncan said. "This water is scalding hot to anyone but me!"

"Yeah, and you get to spend a few more days in the spa, you lucky stiff!", Kenny said jokingly.

"How's your fire, bro?", DJ asked.

Duncan turned and exhaled a small jet of flames.

"It's about like when I first got it", he said. "It should come back at full strength eventually….maybe even stronger, according to Dr. Pytell's theory of how I heal and get stronger in proportion to my injury."

"Cool!", Kenny said. "Kinda like the heroes of that anime we watch!"

"Ok, that's enough, guys", Margaret said, spreading out a big beach blanket and opening the two big bags she brought. "I got Chinese take-out, enough for everyone! You, too, Clawdeen!"

Everyone settled down to eat, filling up on beef teriyaki, sweet & sour chicken, shrimp lo mein, pork fried rice, and egg-drop soup. The conversation was lively, filling Duncan in on the events of the days he was unconscious. After a while, Margaret packed up the trash and left with everyone but Clawdeen and an assurance to be back with dinner again the next day.

"Mom", Kenny began as they were walking out, "I'm going to drive Frankie home, ok?"

"Sure, Kenny", she and DJ grinned knowingly. "No problem. Just don't be too late….it **is** a school night, after all."

Clawdeen and Duncan went back to their homework for a while, until Clawdeen closed her book with sultry look, slowly licking her lips.

"You know what?", she said, stretching as she stood. "I think I'm gonna take a nice long soak in that other pool."

She began walk seductively away, stripping as she went. Duncan could not take his eyes off the sexy sway of her curvaceous ass. She threw a smoldering look over her shoulder.

"Care to join me?", she cooed as she stepped, naked, into the pool.

Duncan climbed out of the main pool and followed her eagerly, shedding his board-shorts on the way!

xxXXxx

Parked at Inspiration Point, Kenny and Frankie were making out with an intensity that was steaming up the windows of the Jeep! It seemed that with the worry about Duncan lifted, they were making up for lost time. As they made out, they groped each other through their clothes as their passion increased.

"Dammit!", Kenny said when he pulled himself back from unbuttoning her top, to look apologetically at her. "I'm sorry, Frankie! We can't! I don't have a…."

"Don't worry about it", she said huskily. "Don't tell my Dad, but Mom let me go on birth control. I've been taking the pills since right after you got out of the clinic. Sooooo….", she giggled with a wicked gleam in her eyes and biting her lower lip, she pulled him back in…..

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: So Jenna gave Fate a helping hand getting Duncan and Clawdeen together! Our hero wakes to the beautiful face of his true love! Lilith begins her undercover spy mission! Will Duncan and DJ discover the truth about Joe? Wait and see! LOL!**

 **For masterart and ZILLAFAN, thank you for the interest, but I know almost nothing about those worlds nor do I know how I could incorporate them in this story and do them justice. I may consider them for future stories, tho.**

 **Look for new lemons: Duncan/Clawdeen and Kenny/Frankie from this chapter in my rated 'M' work; "You Make Lemonade"!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	40. Chapter 39

**_Hey, Everyone! As usual, I do not own "Firebreather" or Monster High". The scene between Jinafire and Chad was inspired by a very similar scene written by my friend and fellow writer, Creaturemaster, in his awesomely epic "We Are Monsters"!_**

Chapter 39

Thad was a bit self-conscious walking through the Subterran community, as many subterrans stared, and a few even glared. Having Jinx on his arm was a comfort. He hoped eventually they would realize that he, like Draculaura and her dad, was different from most vampires and accept him. But when Jinx's mom, Lexxa, had invited him to dinner, and he was happy to accept. The fact the Lexxa not only accepted, but actually **liked** him felt….good; further proof that he was truly in love for the first time in his immortal un-life.

"Here we are, Sweetie", Jinx said, leading the way through an open archway, as it seemed that there were no closable doors at all in the whole community. Subterran architecture amazed him; it reminded him of the dwarf kingdoms from the 'Lord of the Rings' movies, yet still distinctive from that of the ancient builders of the catacombs. Granted, some of the community simply used existing catacomb structures, but they built most of their community themselves from raw caverns and even solid rock.

Jinx's home was furnished like any other home and had a cozy feel. She gave him the nickel tour, ending in her bedroom.

"My Mom is still with the other Elders", she said as she put on some music. "She'll be home for dinner."

"Speaking of", he said sniffing the air. "What smells so good?"

"Fresh baked rolls and my Mom's stew", she smiled. "An old family recipe, cooked low and slow."

"I can't wait to try it", he smiled. Then Jinx gave him a naughty look with a wicked grin.

"Until then…..". she said….just before she tackled him onto her bed!

xxXXxx

"Jinx! I'm home!", Lexxa called out, startling the couple. Thad was nervous and about to scramble for his clothes, when his ghoulfriend's mom came to the doorway of her room. "Sorry, but the council ran a little late today…..", Lexxa paused when she saw them cuddled up in bed, clothes strewn chaotically around the room, and a knowing smile split her face. "But I see you've kept our guest….entertained."

"Uuuh…Um…I'm s-sorry…", Thad stammered, until Lexxa held up a hand and shook her head gently while Jinx giggled.

"No need to be nervous, Thad", she said. "You two have done nothing wrong. I'm sure Jinx has explained that our culture does not have the same taboos as most. In fact", she looked appraisingly at his shirtless chest, "if you were just a few years older….."

"Mom!", Jinx admonished. "Even if he **were** old enough, he's told me he'd rather we be monogamous with each other, and I love him enough to agree. So even though I don't mind sharing, I'm pretty sure that means no three-somes with my mom!"

"*tsk*A shame", Lexxa sighed. "Well, dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

"She was kidding", he asked Jinx after Lexxa left. "Right?"

"Nope!" Jinx giggled, as she watched her boyfriend blush so bright that his normally diamond-like sparkle more closely resembled rubies!

xxXXxx

"Well, Duncan", Dr Pytell began, after checking his vitals and core temperature, "These last few days here in the hot-spring have done wonders! Now, you **could** finish out the weekend down here if you want to, but I see no medical reason that you can't go home today."

"Thank the Mother Goddess!", he said, climbing out of the pool. "I was beginning to feel like a sea monster!"

"I got'cher dry clothes right over here, Hot-Stuff", Clawdeen smirked. Duncan gave her a quick kiss as he took his clothes and went behind a large pillar to get dressed.

"Ah! It feels good to be fully clothed again!", he said as he steeped back out. He was wearing his green tribal-dragon t-shirt, black cargo pants, sandals and sleeveless black leather biker jacket.

"Speak for yourself, Sexy!", Clawdeen whispered to him. "I **liked** seeing you almost naked all the time!"

"Yeah, I bet you did!", he chuckled, then took her in his arms and kissed her deeply.

"I forgot my bike isn't here", Duncan said once they got outside. "I guess I'll have to fly you home, Clawdeen", he smirked.

"Oh, no! Not again!", Clawdeen joked. "Actually, bring me to your place? Your mom invited me to dinner for your first night back."

"Sure, Sweetie", he grinned, as he picked her up bridal-style as he extended his wings.

"I'll meet you two there!", Dr. Pytell called as they took off into the sky.

When they landed in the driveway, the house appeared strangely dark.

"Mom?", Duncan called out as they entered. "Kenny? DJ?"

Silence. They he saw the sliding glass back-door was open behind the blinds, and there was a familiar delicious scent in the air.

"Let's check it out", Clawdeen said, and they stepped outside.

"SURPRISE! PIZZA PARTY! WELCOME HOME, DUNCAN!", Clawdeen joined all their family and friends in shouting! She had been in on it!

"Good one, Everybody! Thanks! And you", he pulled Clawdeen up against him, "I'll deal with you later!"

"Anytime, Hot-Stuff", she grinned.

There were multiple extra large pizzas around for every taste, even a garlic-free veggie-special for Draculaura. Duncan and Clawdeen were sharing a carnivore-special with pineapple when Dr. Pytell arrived.

"Sorry, Duncan", she grinned. "You were good-to-go last night, but your mom wanted time to set this party up for you."

"Yeah, that's what I figured", he chuckled around a mouthful of pizza, then he swallowed. "It's cool, Doc."

"Well, Duncan", Barnes said as he handed a plate of cheeselovers-pizza and salad to Dr. Pytell, "You look strong enough to smack around a rogue kaiju. We've had our differences, but it's good to see you're ok."

"Careful, 'Blitz', people might start to think you like me", Duncan joked, then shook his hand. "Thanks."

Throughout the party, the many friends and various adults present all welcomed him back. Ramses was particularly eloquent, as was Cleo. Nefera, still spiteful at failing to steal Duncan and being punished, chose to remain at home.

The conversations at the party turned to Thanksgiving plans. The Steins offered to host the Wolf and Rosenblatt families for dinner, with everyone making or bringing different dishes to the table; although Duncan insisted on smoking one of the turkeys they would need barbeque-style. Bloodgood talked about her plans for dinner with Robecca and the dorm ghouls, while Dani was going home to celebrate with her family.

"Yes", Jinafire told Duncan and the others, leaning her head on Chad's shoulder. "Chad and his parents have invited me to join them, and I will also get to meet his grandparents."

"That's clawesome, you two", Clawdeen said, although she seemed to sense a touch of nervousness from the dragon ghoul. "Are you ok, Jin?"

"Me? Of course!", Jin replied hurriedly. "Why would I not be?"

Chad looked at his ghoulfriend with concern. "Let's take a walk, ok, Jin?"

"Sure, Chad", she said as they walked away from the party. They eventually found themselves in the upper-level of the garage; where Duncan, Kenny, and DJ had set-up a kind of lounge/hang-out for when friends came over as well as a make-shift observatory with a large telescope.

"Jin, I can tell something is bugging you", he said as he looked in her eyes. "Ever since our first date, and it seemed to get worse when you found out you'd be meeting my grandparents. Please tell me what's bothering you?"

"I have been trying to find a way to tell you, talk to you, so you understand", she sighed. "As you know, Chad, I am a dragon of Chinese lineage. We dragons live for a very long time. It can take centuries in normie time for us to become 'teenagers' and attain a humanoid form. And we can spend just as long to find our soul-mate; be it another dragon, a normie, or a monster of another species….that one individual who completes us, we will find them. Occassionally, a dragon is born that never had that soul-mate to begin with. They often become bitter and dark until they die horrible, lonely deaths."

"That's terrible, and sad", he said with sympathy. "But what does this have to do with what's bothering you?

Jinafire took a deep breath and let it out….time to tell him.

"I was one of those dragons, Chad", she said in a tone that broke his heart. "I never found my other half", then she looked at him lovingly, "Until I met **_you_**."

Chad was flabbergasted. He had no idea of the depth of their relationship.

"Well, I know that I love you, and that you love me….but what exactly does this mean?"

She walked over to him and took his hands in hers, and looked into his eyes. He could feel the depth of the love between them.

"It means that in my culture, we are technically husband and wife", she said evenly, then looked down and away. "I understand if you find this a bit overwhelm…."

"I don't mind at all", he said sincerely without hesitation, pulling her into a warm embrace and leaning his forehead against hers. "I only have one small problem."

"And what is that, my husband?"

"How'm I gonna explain to my family that I'm already married?", he joked as she giggled and blew a heart-shaped ring of smoke around his face.

"I am sure we will think of something", she smiled, then kissed him deeply. She then slithered her forked reptilian tongue out to tantalizingly lick his neck, causing him to stiffen and moan. Jin ran her hands up his pecs and around his shoulders, enjoying the feel of his firm strong muscles. She felt his hands glide down her back, hugging her as his fingers grazed the base of her tail and gave her shapely ass a firm squeeze; and the feeling was amazing. She blushed bronze as she moaned in pleasure.

They shared another fiery kiss, their lips devouring each other as her long tongue practically whipped his into submission before literally wrapping around it in passionate constriction. His fingers gently clawed the back of her Asian short-dress up until he could feel her bare ass-cheeks on either side of her thong panties, and he gave them a firm squeeze. She playfully slapped his hands with her tail, and they separated slightly.

"To aggressive?", he asked sheepishly.

"Not aggressive enough", she grinned wickedly as she pulled his t-shirt off. "In my culture, we would already be in bed by now."

She reached back to unzip her dress, and let it slide tantalizingly off her body. Now in nothing but her bra, panties, and heels, she placed her hands on his bare chest and gently pushed him toward a couch….

xxXXxx

Monday, back at school, Joe was still blending in well. Venus was a good guide and excellent company. He liked her attitude and love of the environment, and her dedication to saving it. It also didn't hurt that she was beautiful and had rad style.

"Good morning, Joe", he heard behind him. He turned to see the smiling face of Venus.

"Hi, Venus", he smiled, as he started getting lost in her blue eyes. He shook his head. "Uh, what's going today?"

"Not too much", she said smiling, getting closer to him. "Just reminding everyone to recycle stuff that can be. How about you?"

"J-just looking for a new place to stay", he said. "Camping out in the Whispering Woods is cool, but I can't do it forever."

'Her lips are so close to mine I could just…..No! Bad!', he thought to himself.

"I might know a place for you", she winked. "That is if you don't mind compa…"

"Hey, Venus!", as voice called out, breaking the moment.

"Frankie! Hey!", she called.

"Um, catch you later, ok, Venus?", he said, going inside.

"Huh?", she looked as he left, then looked disappointed. "Yeah. Later. Sure."

Once inside, he kicking himself; figuratively speaking.

'What the hell was that? Idiot! I think she likes me! But she can't! I mean, I can't! What if she finds out I'm not really a plant monster?! She'll hate me! I couldn't stand that! I like her! Wait! What?! Stop that! Aaaauuuurrrgh!'

He went to his locker to get his books and wait for Venus to go to their first class, when a familiar figure came around the bend with a cute werewolf ghoul on his arm, both sipping coffees.

'Duncan is here, too?!', he thought to himself, as he turned away to hide himself. 'What the hell?!'

"You must be Joe", Duncan said behind him. He turned casually, inwardly cringing. "Nice to meet you. I'm Duncan, and this is Clawdeen."

"Hey", she said cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you both", he smiled. Duncan was looking intently at him. "Something wrong?"

"I'm sorry", he said sheepishly. "But my friend DJ wasn't kidding; you're almost a dead-ringer for our old friend Joe Ramos."

"Yeah, I guess I just have one of those faces", Joe laughed nervously.

"You wanna come hang with us and our friends before class?", Clawdeen offered.

"Thanks", he replied, "but I'm still trying not to get lost, so I'll just wait here for my guide."

"You mean Venus?", Duncan asked. "No problem, she's one of our friends."

'Of course she is', Joe inwardly cringed again. "Also, I….don't think I'm ready for that yet; I don't want to intrude and feel awkward."

"Ok, no problem", Duncan said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Just know that you're welcome any time, ok?"

"Thanks."

xxXXxx

On a hill overlooking Monster High, an unknown ghoul looks down at the school with a smirk.

"So….this is where Ghoulia has been hiding all this time. I can't wait to see her again, and I'm sure she will be **thrilled** to see me again….right, Zomboys?"

A chorus of moans and groans sounds behind her.

"Muoy bien! Ya-ha-ha-ai!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Yeah, Baby! Duncan is back and better than ever, guys! Plus, set-up two more lemons for "You Make Lemonade"! But who is this new ghoul, and what are her intentions? And more importantly, what is her connection to kind, sweet, incredibly smart Ghoulia?**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	41. Chapter 40

**_Hey, Everyone! This was a fun chapter to write, and I must thank anime-death-angel for his contribution! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 40

"I swear, Clawdeen", Duncan said as they walked toward to fountain. "It's like someone took my old friend and turned him into a plant monster!"

"There is something odd about his scent", she said. "He smells like a tree, but with undertones of stone, metal….all kinds of things….including normie."

"Well, he seems like a nice guy", Duncan shrugged. "And it looks like Venus likes him and vice-versa. *chuckle* They kinda remind me of when DJ and Robecca first met, before they finally admitted their feelings!"

"*giggle*You got that, too, huh?", Clawdeen smirked. Then she turned serious. She needed to know….

"Duncan, I've been meaning to ask", she said softly. "The night before you woke up, you said Jenna's name….?"

Duncan sighed as he looked down. He had to tell her.

"I **saw** her, Clawdeen", he said, looking back into her eyes. "She was there, in the light; with my ancestors. We heard your voice, begging them to send me back. They did, after Jenna told me that **she** gave Fate a push….the day you and I met."

Clawdeen gasped at this revelation. It was true that she had never walked that way after getting her latte before. After her talk with Jin that day, she suspected Fate had intervened for her and Duncan. But to learn that Jenna was behind it from beyond was mindblowing!

"She wanted me to be happy and….let her go. Before I got pulled away from the light, I was finally able to tell her how I felt about her….and say good-bye."

"I wish I could thank her", Clawdeen sniffed, deeply moved.

"There's one last thing", he said. "She told me that the world needs us—both of us together—to survive. She didn't say any more about it, but I get the feeling that there's a storm coming….maybe more than one; and we need to be ready."

"Well", she grinned, "together, there's nothin' we can't handle, right?"

They reached the fountain, and their friends. With Thanksgiving coming up in a couple weeks, plans for the holiday dominated the conversation. Draculaura and her parents had been invited to join the large gathering at the Steins, while Thad had been invited to join Jinx and her mom for dinner. Duncan and DJ talked about the smoker they were building to smoke one of the Turkeys for dinner at the Steins.

"Big news, everyone!", Spectra said as she floated over. "I got an email from the owner of the New Salem Drive-In! He's making Wednesday nights 'Monster Nite' at the drive-in and asked me to spread the word! I'll be posting it in my blog today!"

"So we'll be able to go see boovies at the drive-in?", Clawd asked. "That's clawesome! But why is he doing it?"

"In the email he told me that Wednesdays are almost dead at the box-office", Spectra explained. "Thursdays are when a lot of normie adults get paid and go out, while weekends are mostly dominated by teens from New Salem High. After the incident with Chad and Jin with some monster-hating teens, he thought it was only fair to have a special nite there for us! And he was honest enough to tell me that it will bring in more money for him as well."

"When is this going to start, Spectra?", Duncan asked.

"This week!", she said excitedly. "Day after tomorrow will be the first 'Monster Nite at the Drive-In'! He'll be showing 'Avatar'!"

"Sweet!", Deuce said. All the couples began talking about it; who would go, and who would wait til next week, etc. Venus really wanted to go, as that was one of the few normie boovies she really liked; she had it on BluRay at home, but to see it on the big drive-in screen with Joe….Wait! What?!

'Oh, who am I kidding', she thought to herself. 'I really like him, and I think he likes me. But if he won't make a move, then by Mother Gaia's eternal embrace, **I will!** '

Just then, the bell rang and they headed inside.

"Say, Venus", Frankie piped up, "isn't 'Avatar' one of your favorite boovies?"

"Yeah, it is", she replied. Then she saw Joe waiting near her locker. "Give me a minute, ghouls?"

"Go for it, ghoulfriend!", Clawdeen said encouragingly when Venus began to march toward him with a purpose!

"Hey, Venus", Joe smiled in greeting. Instead of answering, Venus threw her arms around his neck and crushed her lips to his! After his initial shock, he closed his eyes and melted into the kiss, snaking his arms around her waist. There were cheers and applause from friends and fellow students all around them!

"I've been wanting to do that since the moment I first looked into those big brown eyes after you caught me in your big strong arms", she confessed after they broke the kiss.

"I-I really like you, too, Venus", he replied sheepishly. "I just didn't know how to tell you."

"Well", she said as they started walking to class, "they're showing 'Avatar' at the New Salem Drive-In Wednesday night. A bunch of our friends are taking dates there. Normally, I would never ride in a gas-guzzler like your truck, but I'd love to go with you?"

"It's a date", he smiled.

xxXXxx

Chase had been working up the nerve for a while, and now he was determined. He saw Dani at her locker, floating to reach the top shelf. For a moment, he froze. 'She is so cute', he thought to himself. Then Stampede nudged him forward.

"Uh…Hi, Dani", he said nervously.

"Oh, hey, Chase!", she smiled. "How's it going?"

"*ahem* Look, Dani, I know you're my teacher and younger'n me an' all", he shifted nervously on his feet. "But I really like you an' I was wonderin' if we could maybe…ya know…go out sometime?"

Dani blinked in surprise. She had never had a cute boy tell her he liked her before, let alone ask her out! And he was **cute**! He was the youngest ghost in her class but was also the cutest in her mind. He was like the gentleman do-gooder cowboys from those old westerns; like a knight errant of the Wild West! She blushed with a smile.

"I think I'd really like that, Chase", she winked. "I gotta get to class, but we'll talk at lunch, ok?"

"I wouldn't miss it, li'l lady!", he said. Then as soon as she was gone, "Yeeeaaahhoooo!"

xxXXxx

Wednesday night Bloodgood's mansion was buzzing with activity. Lagoona and Robecca were getting ready to go to the New Salem Drive-In with their respective boyfriends. When Dani had asked if she could go too with Chase Rider, Grace—mindful of Dani's age, and how protective King Phantom was of her—agreed to let her and Chase have pizza and a movie there at the mansion; on the condition that Dani tell her DNA-Dad about Chase when she goes home for Thanksgiving. Dani grudgingly agreed.

Joe rang the bell and stood nervously at the house of Venus McFlytrap as he waited for her so they could go on their date. He had actually cleaned his truck so it no longer looked and smelled like the inside of a dumpster at a fast food joint! Bad enough it was—as Venus had put it—a 'gas-guzzler', but it was all he had to work with while he was on the run. While hiding out at a salvage yard, he had rebuilt it from a junker, and the yard owner let him have it for free since he had helped in the yard the whole time he was rebuilding it. Maybe he could convert it to run on alternative fuels?

He waited a bit longer until the door finally opened and his breathe was taken away. Venus' light green skin and hot pink and green hair always made her stand out in Joe's eyes but tonight she looked beautiful, especially with vines circling her neck, arms, and ankles. She wore an open short-top denim vest over her black shirt with pink and green floral imprints, pink black-green leggings with a black skirt over it, and ankle-length high-heeled shoes with plant-like teeth at the soles.

While Joe was busy staring, Venus was also checking him out, and she liked what she saw. He wore black steel-toed combat boots, black jean pants with rips at the knees, and finally a green & black buffalo plaid button-up that was left open, exposing a black mesh top over a white tank-top. The sleeves of the button-up plaid were torn off exposing his tattooed arms, a Celtic cross on his right forearm and a combination of Chinese year of the Monkey/Aries Zodiac on his left. The back the plaid was covered in holes and tears that resembled a skull showing the white top underneath.

A few moments passed before they both realized were staring at each other with blushes on their faces before got in the truck.

When they got there Venus saw that there were several other monster and mixed couples there: Lagoona and Gil, DJ and Robecca, Duncan and Clawdeen, Kenny and Frankie, Romulus and Howleen, Clawd and Draculaura, Jackson and Claire, plus Chad and Jinafire. There were also a few normie couples there.

After parking the truck, and tuning the radio to the Drive-In's sound-station, they did like most of the other couples and got some popcorn, candy and sodas.

A little into the film, Joe gently looped is arm around Venus' shoulders who smiled and snuggled up to him.

When the movie got to the part of Jake and Neytiri choosing each other as mates, Joe gently cupped Venus' chin and turn/tilted her face close to his.

'Ok Joe. It's now or never', he thought as his deep brown eyes stared into her blueish-green eyes as he pulled the ghoul he was falling for into a deep, passionate kiss. Venus instantly wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened and their tongues danced together, his arms circling around her waist. Even though they were young, they both felt that they were meant for each other, just like Duncan and Clawdeen and the other couples at Monster High.

When the need for air became apparent, the two separated, taking deep breaths as they stared lovingly at one another.

'I have to tell her the truth', Joe thought. 'I just hope she doesn't hate me.'

He was about to speak when suddenly, a pounding on the passenger door surprised them.

"Filthy monsters! You're not welcome on our side of town!"

Growling, Joe stepped out and saw the two most bigotted racists to all monsters, Mike Richardson and Tiffany Kase. He had heard of these two from Jinafire and was told to be careful as they hated anything that wasn't human. And they weren't alone; the twins Rick and Chris were with them along with almost the whole football team and a few of Tiffany's 'mean girl' friends! Many of them were armed with baseball bats and other weapons.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Two more freaks polluting our town." Mike sneered as Venus stepped out while people began to watch them instead of the movie. The other monster couples gathered behind them to form a unified front.

"What did you expect Mike? These monsters are like roaches. Crawling where they don't belong." Tiffany added while examining her hand that had way too much jewelry on it.

Joe's eyes narrowed while Venus growled. "Look we have the right to be here. So why don't you just leave us alone?"

"Shut up, freak! Monsters like you don't have rights!" Mike barked as Joe stepped forward.

"You're Mike Richardson, right? The richest guy in New Salem High?"

"Yeah so?"

"Let me ask. Is the reason the blonde skank next to you wears so much bling is because you're compensating for something downstairs?"

At that, everyone that gathered gasped, cheered, laughed, or 'ooooooo'-ed at the burn at the school's 'supposed' 'power-couple' as Mike went red in the face while Tiffany looked like someone slapped her.

Venus smiled and kissed Joe on the cheek.

"You monsters don't belong here!", Mike snarled, and suggestively tapped his bat into his other hand. "Clear out now….or we'll **make** you!"

"The owner opened up Wednesday nights for us", Clawdeen growled. "So we have the right to be here, jack-ass!"

"So back off!", Duncan snarled, flames in his mouth.

"As if!", Tiffany sniped.

"Yeah", Mike smirked. "We all know that if the cops show up, they'll only arrest you freaks!"

For emphasis, he poked Venus in the gut with his bat! That did it!

"Don't you touch her!", Joe barked, stepping in front of her.

"Screw you, FREAK!", Mike yelled as he swung his bat down hard, only to miss as Joe sidestepped and delivered a superkick right to the punk's face, knocking him for a loop. This surprised everyone as the other football players attacked.

The other guys and ghouls split up to engage and prevent any of them from surrounding anyone. The ghouls kept the normie mean girls back with little more than a look, although Clawdeen did so very much want to rearrange Tiffany's 'perfect' face, she resisted the temptation.

Chad and a few other normie by-standers had their phones out, recording the brawl. Duncan, Joe, and the other guys each had their hands full with a few opponents.

Seeing one charge recklessly towards him, Joe grabbed his wrist and spun his body, holding the linebacker's extended arm, he pulled while driving his other arm into the punk's chest with a vicious clothesline, knocking him down. Seeing a second charging, Joe jumped up and thrust both feet into the guy's chest, sending him crashing into a car wear his head collided with the window, knocking him out. As he fell, Joe dropped his elbow on the moron he knocked down and knocked out his third jock.

Meanwhile, Clawd clunked the twins, Rick and Chris, heads together, Gil wrenched a pipe away from one jock, while another broke his bat against DJ's titanium implants, and Duncan engaged a small army, as they saw him as the greatest threat. He had to hold back big-time to keep from killing anyone by accident, but it was like swatting at an annoying swarm of insects! In frustration, he set fire to the seat of one's pants and gave another a classic cartoon 'hot-foot'! Both scrambled to smother the flames, which they did easily.

"Raaagh!" Another big guy snarled as he charged and swung his bat wildly and missed. Joe spun him around and grabbed his face in a three-quarter face lock while jumping up till he was parallel from the ground. Using the momentum, Joe slammed the footballer's face into the ground in the form of a cutter, knocking him out instantly. Seeing the final punk charge at him with his bat raised above him, Joe quickly planted his foot into the guy's groin, stopping him. He then slammed his boot into his face breaking his nose. Before the punk could recover, Joe rolled back on his knees and charged him with a massive shoulder tackle to the ground which bruised his ribs.

Joe slowly stood up as he breathed heavily to catch his breath while everyone was stunned at what they saw.

Venus slowly walked towards the guy she loved but gasped as she saw a recovered Mike pick up his bat. Before she could warn him, Mike smashed against the back of Joe's head, making him fall to his knees. What happened next stunned everyone but Venus most of all.

The bark of Joes's skin seemed to shift and recede as his mossy green hair turned black and his skin took a dark-tan colored tone.

For a second, no one moved as Joe slowly stood up and placed his hand on his truck. Joe surprised everyone yet again as his skin seemed to absorb to metallic properties of the truck and turned into the same green hue as the vehicle.

Joe turned to face the stunned Mike who started at the green, metal man before him. Suddenly Joe's arm shot out and grabbed Mike's throat in a vice-like grip. With surprising strength, he lifted the rich brat up in the air with one arm as his feet dangled and his hands desperately tried to remove the hand from his throat as he stared into Joe's eyes with fear. Deciding to end it, Joe viciously back-handed Mike hard, knocking the jock out.

Joe turned to Venus, who was staring at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Are you alright?", he asked, then suddenly realized his mistake. "Venus, I…."

"You lied to me!", she cried and ran off as fast as she could, sobbing. He tried to run after her, when sirens and flashing lights poured into the drive-in.

"What's going on here?" an officer yelled, getting out of his cruiser. "A bunch of monsters causing trouble on our side of town? You're all under arrest!"

"Whoa! Hold on!", Clawd said. "We were just here for the boovie, just like the owner said we could tonight! It was **these** punks who started trouble!", indicating the heap of battered football players.

"Like I'd believe that!", the officer sneered, backed up by his partner.

"It was all the monsters' fault officer!" Tiffany whined, backed up by her friends pouring on the water-works. "Lock them up and throw away the key!"

"Now **that** I believe. So like I said…..", the officer started.

"Wait!", Chad yelled, holding up his phone. "I have proof that the monsters were only defending themselves!"

"Shut-up, punk!", the other cop barked. "Or we'll run you in as an accomplice!"

""That's enough!", another voice commanded with authority from behind the cops. "Stand down, officers!"

"D-Detective M-Murphy!", the first cop stammered. "W-why are you here? We have this disturbance under control. This is clearly a case of monsters causing trouble."

"Really?", the detective drolled. "Then why did Hank, the owner of this drive-in, just tell me that it was the football team and their girls who forced their way past the gate without paying in order to start a fight with these movie-goers who had done nothing wrong until they were provoked? And why are you threatening that young man(he pointed to Chad) who claims to have evidence exonerating the monsters?"

The detective walked over to Chad.

'This is outrageous!" Tiffany shrieked. "Th-they're monsters! Just arrest them!"

"Pipe down, missy!", the detective ordered, causing her to sputter in disbelief. "Show me the video, kid."

Chad started it so the detective could watch.

"It **is** you, isn't it, Joe?"

Joe turned to see Duncan and DJ. He sighed in defeat, and reverted to normal.

"Yeah, it's me", he said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I've been on the run for months, and I just wanted to disappear."

"What happened to you?", Duncan asked.

"Yeah, since when do you have powers?", DJ added.

"It's a long story", he said.

"Ok! Listen up!", the detective called out. "I _**really**_ don't want to do any paperwork tonight, so I'm willing to call this brawl a misunderstanding. But if **anyone** pushes the issue, you will **all** get hauled in and I will **_personally_** make sure that the most unbiased judge sees this video and hears the eye-witness testimony of Hank and we'll see who goes to jail and who goes home with a clean record!"

The monsters smiled while the normie jocks and their girls grumbled.

"And one more thing!", the Detective smirked. "Wednesday is my day off; so I think I'll be bringing the missus with me here to see the movies for a while…..like until Hank gets some security cameras set up."

Unnoticed, another of the movie-goers posts a video of the brawl on the internet.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Joe is exposed by doing the right thing. Who is he really? What happened to him? And why is he on the run? And how does he know Ducan and DJ? Will Venus forgive him? Wait and see! LOL!**

 **The brawl in the drive-in was mstly written by anime-death-angel to showcase his OC, so credit goes to him, as I only made moderate tweaks with his permission.**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	42. Chapter 41

**_Hey, Everyone! Dr. Norman Ozborn is my OC and is inspired by the secret identity of Marvel's Green Goblin! Well he will appear later in the story. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 41: The Past Haunts the Present

Venus was sitting on her bed, crying bitterly into her mom's shoulder. Her mom was gently stroking her hair, trying her best to comfort her daughter.

"W-why?", she cried between sobs. "W-what is he? Why did he **lie** to me? Why did he pretend to be something he's not? Why… ** _why_** did I have to fall in love with him?!"

"I don't know, darling", her mom said in a soothing voice as she gently rocked her sobbing daughter. "I've only ever loved your father. But if what you've told me is true, I think Joe may be hurting as much as you are."

xxXXxx

Joe had gone with Duncan, DJ, Kenny and their ghoulfriends back to the Rosenblatt home, and were in the lounge above the garage.

"Ok, I get that you actually **are** the old friend that Duncan and DJ thought you looked like", Clawdeen said with an edge. "But who exactly are you and where do you get off messing with one of my best ghoulfriends?"

"Please, the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt Venus", Joe said in a defeated voice. "I-I really do love her. I was going to tell her the truth, but that jack-ass jock and his friends interrupted me."

"Hmph! Why should we believe you?", Frankie scoffed.

"And what exactly are you?", Robecca asked curiously.

"Ghouls, please", Duncan said. "DJ and I have known Joe long enough to know he would **_never_** deliberately hurt anyone outside of defending himself or others."

"I may have never met the guy before myself", Kenny chimed in. "But from everything these guys have told me about him, I gotta agree enough to at least hear him out."

"Seems fair to me", Robecca said.

"Fine", Clawdeen growled. "But this better be **good!** "

"Yeah!", Frankie agreed.

"Ok, Joe", DJ said. "Time to fill us in."

"Well, you guys already know that my mom married Dr. Ozborn a couple years after my dad died on a mission", Joe began. "What you **don't** know is that he had wanted her since their days at MIT, and he'd been jealous as hell of my dad, especially after mom and dad got married and had me. He pursued her relentlessly after dad died—creep!—and I guess mom decided that I needed a father figure and figured being married to an old friend wouldn't be so bad."

She was **wrong**. Overtime, he realized that she **never** loved him like she had my dad. On top of that, her growing successes at MEGTAF combined with his growing mediocrity there made him jealous and bitter of **both** my parents. He became abusive to her at home. When it started I was just twelve, there was nothing I could do. But then, about six months ago….."

(Flashback)

"This is all **_your_** fault!", Norman screamed as he slapped Sarah, knocking her to the floor. "This is the **_final_** insult! MEGTAF is closing down my section and reassigning me to non-essential projects! Funny how the projects **you** are in charge of now have more funding! You did this deliberately, didn't you?! Answer me!", he snarled as he pulled her up by her hair and slapped her again, making her cry out in pain.

"Leave her alone!", Joe yelled, running into the kitchen from his room wearing just his sweat-pants.

"So the half-breed speaks!", Norman sneered at Joe. "It's **your** fault my wife doesn't love me! A constant living reminder of your jar-head father who **stole** her from me in the first place! She should've loved **_me!_** I loved her **long** before she even **met** your wet-back 'spic of a father!"

"Don't you **dare** talk about my dad!", Joe yelled. "He was a good man…a **brave** man…a **_hero!_** I'm not a little kid any more! And I swear….if you raise your hand to my mom again, I'll break your fucking arm!"

"So you finally grew a spine, huh?", Norman sneered. "Let's see what you got, punk!"

In his fury, Dr. Norman Ozborn abandoned his intellect and lashed out. He shoved Joe hard into the stainless steel refridgerator, stunning him. What happened next shocked all three of them! Joe's body absorbed the properties of the steel as Norman was throwing all his strength into a punch directed at Joe's face. It connected just as Joe finished turning into steel. The bones of Norman's hand shattered as if he had punched an anvil!

"YEEEAAAAUUUGH!", he screamed in pain. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"M-mom?", Joe stammered, looking at his steel hands. His eyes widened even more as he reverted to normal. Then, as he leaned against the marble counter-top, it happened again! He turned into marble. When he let go, he again reverted to normal. "W-what's happening to me?!"

"Oh, my baby!", Sarah cried, her own pain forgotten. "We have to get you to MEGTAF! Run tests, find out what this is and if we can reverse it!"

"What about my hand?!", Norman growled through grit teeth.

"I'll set it at the lab!", Sarah said, exasperated. "Something is very wrong with my boy! We have to hurry!"

(End Flashback)

"The tests showed that I could absorb the properties of anything I touch; becoming whatever it is: stone, metal, water, asphalt, crystal…..anything. With practice I learned I could remain whatever it is as long as I wanted, and could even turn my hands into weapons of whatever material I was at the time. And if I was a liquid, I could spray that liquid at will."

"Show us", Frankie said.

"Ok", Joe reached out to DJ. "May I?" DJ nodded and Joe touched a finger to one of his implants. In a few seconds, Joe had turned into titanium and changed his hand into a long sword-blade. Then he reverted to normal again.

"Wicked", Kenny said in an awed tone.

"We also found out there was no way to 'cure' me because it was permanently part of my DNA", Joe went on to say. "At that discovery, my mom had a theory of how I got this way. She had been in a lab accident involving a means of creating adaptive materials to build weapons and defenses against kaijus and rogue monsters that could adapt to any situation. It was during her post accident medical exam that she learned she was one month pregnant with me. My mom further theorized that my powers stayed dormant until I hit puberty and they were kick-started by stress."

"You said you've been on the run", Duncan remembered. "Why?"

"The original adaptive materials project was abandoned and moth-balled when it failed to yield results", Joe said. "But my bastard of a step-dad went to his superiors at MEGTAF and told them about me against my mom's wishes. He claimed that by studying me, he could re-open the project and make it work. I was locked up in the lab and not allowed to leave for weeks; being poked and prodded by that jerk. I think he got some sick satisfaction from torturing me. He wouldn't even let my mom anywhere near me! He claimed it was because she couldn't be objective concerning her son. I think he just enjoyed torturing her, too! Eventually, my mom found a way to get to me and help me escape. She had managed to turn off the electrified fence around the facility on our way out. I just got over it, and she was right behind me…. when the fence turned back on! *sob* She was jolted so bad that she flew back several yards. She told me to run with her dying breath. When security showed up, all they saw was my mom's body on the ground inside the facility and me running away. I've been running ever since."

"And MEGTAF is still chasing you?", DJ asked. "Why?"

"Because they still want to copy and weaponize my powers", Joe said. "Plus, during one of my close-calls, I found out that they think I escaped on my own and killed my mom when she tried to stop me! I can only assume that lie came from that bastard Ozborn!"

"Ok", Clawdeen said, feeling bad for what Joe had been through. "But why come to Monster High?"

"I tried to disappear into the monster community by blending in", he explained. "The problem was that most monster communities are all of a single species for the most part, so even with my powers I stood out, and kept getting found eventually. Along the way, I heard about Monster High, how everyone is welcome here. I was exhausted of running, and I thought in a place like this I could finally blend in and disappear. So when I got here, I absorbed the properties of a tree near my camp-site, and walked right in. Joe Ramos was gone, and Joe Osmos enrolled in Monster High. What happened with Venus was a total accident. I-I never _dreamed_ I would fall in love."

"You've been through a lot, luv", Robecca said with sympathy.

"We're still not happy about what you did to Venus", Clawdeen said.

"But we'll keep your secret", Frankie affirmed.

"So will I", a voice said from the stairs, making everyone jump in surprise. Margaret came in to view.

"M-Mrs. Rosenblatt!", Joe stammered, while Duncan face-palmed.

"How long have you been standing there, Mom?"

"I heard everything", she said. "I always knew Ozborn was a pill, but he's gone way too far. Joseph, camping in the woods is no good in the long run, so you can stay here. This lounge can be your room. In the meantime, I'll do some quiet digging into Ozborn, and I think Therasa will be willing to help as well."

"I-I don't know what to say", he said in gratitude.

"Nonsense! I liked Sarah very much. And for the longest time, you and DJ were the only real friends Duncan had", she said. Then she smiled and placed a sympathetic hand in Joe's shoulder. "You can thank me by trying to fix things between you and Venus. If you love each other, you deserve to be happy together."

"I-I'll try."

xxXXxx

The next day, the three boys pulled into the student lot at school, Joe parking his truck next to Duncan and DJ's motorcycles.

"I don't have practice on Thursdays", Duncan said. "So after school, DJ and I can help you pack up your campsite."

"Thanks, guys."

"Let's hit the creepateria", DJ said. "I need my OJ/Mountain Doom morning cocktail, and I'm sure Duncan wants his (sarcastic-tone) chocolate coffee."

"Hey! It's a double chocolate coffincino latte and it is **supremely** delicious!", Duncan said defensively. "Besides, we both meet our ghoulfriends there first-thing anyway."

The ghouls were already there and waiting; Clawdeen with hers and Duncan's lattes, and Robecca was sipping her ginger tea as she handed DJ his drink.

"I saw Venus when I got here", Clawdeen said. "But she was rushing to the school green-house. It's where she goes when she wants to be left alone."

Joe's face fell. He felt terrible. He didn't intend to hurt her….he hadn't even intended for them to fall in love. It just sorta….happened. he intended to tell her the truth that night, but he was exposed before he could! She must've felt so betrayed! The best thing he could probably do right now was give her some space and hope she would listen and believe him one day.

Meanwhile, Joe joined the main group around the fountain with his friends. There were mixed reactions from the others, though most accepted him after Duncan and DJ vouched for him and he told his story. Ghoulia in particular was interested in his abilities, being a genius and all.

Unnoticed by all, a new zombie ghoul was walking toward them at the head of a group zombies no one had seen before. The ghoul was wearing a sleeveless black denim half-jacket w/ecto-green graphiti, pale yellow tank top, black jeans w/white 'paint-splotch&drip' pattern, pink belt, ear-rings that looked like earth-worms, and red high-wedge boots. She had long white hair with a toxic-green, almost glowing streak on the right side, abbreviated fangs, her silver polished fingernails were long and sharp, her piercing eyes seemed to glow a spectral blue rimmed with black, and her neon-pink lips were pulled into a smirk.

"Hello, Ghoulia", she said in a slightly Spanish accent. Ghoulia's eyes widened in horror, as she recognised the voice. She turned around….and found herself being kissed full on the lips by this new ghoul, while said ghoul was holding her face in place to prolong the kiss! Needless to say, the rest of the guys and ghouls were shocked, especially Slo-Mo!

When the ghoul released her, Ghoulia recoiled in fear, moaning incoherently as she rushed into Slo-Mo's arms.

"Aw, what's the matter, Ghoulia?", she sneered. "Aren't you happy to see your old ghoulfriend, Moanica D'Kay?"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Joe's past is revealed! And he isn't the only one whose past has come back to haunt them!**

 **Just to clarify for any LGBTQ readers I may have, I am an avid supporter of LGBTQ rights. My creative decisions concerning the villain Moanica D'Kay are based solely on what I thought would make her the most interesting character I could and how best to use her in my story. My hope is that you will enjoy my take on her and take no offense, as none is intended.**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	43. Chapter 42

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter is mostly the aftermath and fall-out from last chapter, so it's kinda heavy on the drama. And the Dark Council grows! I do not own the song I used here. It is from the movie "Grease"._**

Chapter 42

Reacting instinctively to Ghoulia's fear, the others stepped protectively between her and the newcomer.

"Look, I don't know who are….", Duncan began saying to Moanica when he was interrupted.

"Well **_I_** do!", Cleo said with a hard edge in her voice. "Ghoulia told me all about her! She's bad news!"

"Then I think you better leave, Moanica", Clawdeen growled. "Like **now** , and take your friends with you!"

"I'm hurt!", the zombie said sarcastically. "And here I heard that **everyone** is welcome at Monster High. That's why I'm here….my zomboys and I just want a place to belong, and the Headmistress was **very** welcoming."

Duncan looked intently at Moanica. He knew Ghoulia and many of the zombies in school, but there was something different about Moanica; and it wasn't just that she could speak clearly. He could sense that she was different somehow….more powerful.

"Well, I suppose I should go", she smirked. "Class is starting soon. Zomboys?"

When she didn't hear anything, she turned….and saw her followers socializing with various monsters nearby.

"Zomboys!", she called louder, an angry edge in her voice and a hard glare, and snapped her fingers. They immediately fell in behind her as she left.

"Are you ok, Ghoulia?", Frankie asked when Moanica was gone.

"Uh-Uh!", she moaned as she huddled close to Slo-Mo, who wrapped his arms protectively around her trembling form.

"Who is that skank?", DJ asked.

"Would you rather I tell them, Ghoulia?", Cleo offered compassionately. Still trembling, the smart zombie nodded with a grateful look in her eyes. Cleo turned to the others.

"Moanica D'Kay is the one who turned Ghoulia and her family into zombies in the first place."

This was a surprising revelation to everyone! They had all assumed the Ghoulia was born a zombie from zombie parents like the others in school. Cleo continued.

"Moanica is an exceptionally rare kind of zombie. She can turn normies into zombies or raise dead normies as zombies and control them, and she has great influence over zombies she didn't create as well. Sort of like the queen of a bee hive or ant colony."

"Wait! My mom told me about queen zombies like her when I was a kid!", Duncan said, remembering Margaret sharing her monster knowledge with him. "They're almost always destroyed when they're discovered; that's why they're so rare! And maybe that's what I'm sensing from her; she's a royal."

"You felt that, too?", Clawdeen asked. Being Alpha, she had sensed the same thing Duncan had.

"Yes", Cleo agreed. "They all always seem to ignore the monster law against turning, so they have been destroyed as often by monsters as they have normies. A few years ago, Moanica wanted to create zombies that could be more useful to her, so she started turning normies who were highly intelligent. It usually didn't work….they always became weak-minded drones…..until Ghoulia."

"Julia—as she was called as a normie—and her parents were picnic-ing in a park near the university where they taught, just a few miles from a cemetery. Her parents were college professors; physics and science. They were suddenly surrounded by zombies under Moanica's control, and she turned them. Her poor mother was reduced to being almost mindless, unable to even take care of herself. Her dad retained just enough to be useful as a drone and care for his wife. But Ghoulia…"

"Ghoulia was still brilliant by any standards", Frankie concluded.

"Exactly", Cleo confirmed. "She quickly became a favorite of Moanica's, who became enamored of her. She forced Ghoulia to help her take over and turn the entire small town of Doomstone Scare-izona."

"That was her?", Skelita gasped. Cleo nodded.

"For some reason, Moanica didn't have total control of her; Ghoulia thought it might be because her intelligence. Anyway, Ghoulia managed to trick Moanica into falling into an old mine shaft and seal her in. With her so far out of the way, her hold on her followers faded, and they wandered off on their own. Ghoulia took her parents and ran as far as she could, and ended up here. Over time, Moanica's hold completely broke, so she had no hold on any of her creations anymore."

"Well, it looks like she made new ones", Clawd said dryly.

xxXXxx

'Just as I thought', Moanica thought to herself as she led her zomboys into the school. 'My influence on Ghoulia is completely gone. Fortunately, I can still recruit many of the zombies here into my army, maybe even that big clod she was clinging to! Plus the other side of town here is **full** of normies….all potential recruits for my army! Plus a few of her friends appear to be half-normie, and the one with all the metal is full normie. But I need to be careful. There was something strange about that werewolf ghoul and the half-normie reptile next to her; they are more than what they seem. Regardless, if I expand my army enough, including some of her friends, my power will increase to where I can **make** my beloved come back to me! Then the world will be mine for the taking!'

xxXXxx

Venus was trying to distract herself by tending her rare flowers and plants in the green-house. Batsy Claro often helped her, but she had been called home to the rain-forest due to an emergency. Venus sighed deeply. She would've liked talking to her friend about what had happened.

"Why so down, cousin of mine?"

Venus winced and groaned inwardly. This was the last thing she needed!

"Hi, Amanita", she greeted her very vain cousin. "What do you care about how I'm feeling? You only care about yourself."

"Because you're so down it's even depressing me", Amanita said. "So what's got your vines in a wilted knot?"

Venus sighed. Batsy wouldn't be back to school for a while, and she had avoided her other ghoulfriends. She wasn't particularly close to her cousin, but she needed to talk to someone.

"Ok, it's like this", she said, and proceeded to tell Amanita the whole story. To her credit, Amanita Nightshade actually listened.

"So he wasn't even a tree monster?", Amanita said. "Pretending to be something you're not is messed up, even by my standards. So what is he exactly?"

"I don't know….some kind of elemental, maybe?"

"Well, I have my own social life to worry about", Amanita said dismissively. "So you gotta decide; either forget about him and move on, or let him try to explain himself then decide whether or not to forgive him."

"That's…..surprisingly insightful, Amanita", Venus said.

"Well", she said arrogantly, "I'm not **just** the most boo-tiful face, you know."

"Thanks, but I'm not sure I'm ready to even look at him, let alone hear him out."

"Whatever. Gotta go."

xxXXxx

Joe went to Bloodgood that morning and came clean. She was irked, and didn't like the fact he had lied about himself, but understood his reasons. It didn't hurt that Duncan, DJ, and Margaret all vouched for him. She allowed him to stay on the condition that there would be no more deception on his part. She even allowed him to keep using his assumed name of 'Joe Osmos'. And since he now knew his way around, she gave him his own schedule of classes. She understood his desire to give Venus some space and didn't put them in the same classes when it could be avoided.

"I know she doesn't want to see me right now, and I can understand that", he told the guys and ghouls at lunch. "I just hope I get the chance to explain….tell her the whole truth…..someday."

"No worries, mate", Lagoona said encouragingly. "Venus maybe hurting right now, but she's pretty easy-going by nature. I'm sure she'll at least hear what you have to say if you let her calm down for a few days."

"Much as I may **want** to stay mad at you", Clawdeen said with a small sympathetic smile, "any guy who feels **this** bad about makin' a mistake with the ghoul he loves can't be all bad."

"In the meantime, bud", DJ smirked. "How about we help you score some points by letting Duncan, Kenny, and I talk to you about converting you truck to use alternative fuels?"

"You know", he chuckled. "I was already thinking about doing that."

xxXXxx

Zombozo was in a good mood. Everywhere the scarnival went, they picked up one or two new Klownz with 'useful talents'! Between them, expanding the Funhouse of Horrors, and pushing most of the rides to the limit of safety, every stop they made provided a veritable feast of emotions and life-energy to feed on. And no one, not even the vaunted Monster Council of Royals, was any the wiser of his return.

He enjoyed the evening air walking the perimeter as the scarnival was setting up at it's current location, his Klownz and the other scarnies were all busy. It was almost too easy. The scarnival was also making far more profit under his control than the….previous management. It was like being paid to eat at a fresh buffet every week!

"It's been a long time, Zombozo."

The powerful Klown whirled in surprise to see a familiar silhouette.

"Revolta", he greeted cordially, removing his hat with a bow and wicked grin. "I'd know that lovely lilting voice and crooked pointed hat anywhere."

The Witch of the Web stepped into the light.

"Flatterer", she smirked. "Only you could gather so many Klownz together in one place, so I'm not surprised to see you returned."

"I must admit I'm surprised to see you, my dear", he replied. "Since my return I heard you made the mistake of challenging Boodika Le Fey while I was away. I'm glad to see the rumors of how badly she crushed you were greatly hex-agerated."

"They were not", she hissed with a scowl. "In fact, were it not for my benefactor, I would still be crippled and virtually powerless."

"Indeed", Zombozo was both shocked and intrigued. "Tell me more?"

"He was but the first of several powerful new allies I've made", Revolta laughed maliciously. "They would like to speak with you. That is, if your minions can spare you for a few hours?"

Zombozo was curious, no doubt about it. But he was wary of any chance that the Monster Council of Royals would become aware of his return. The day he was exiled, Belloc himself told Zombozo in no uncertain terms that he would personally incinerate him where he stood if he ever returned! He never would have returned, if it weren't for those Tennyson brats and that Levin delinquent. It was random chance that it was his home dimension he 'escaped' them to! Now, he was not just surviving, but actually thriving while keeping a low profile.

"I'm flattered, my dear", he said at last. "And the thought of renewing our….relationship is sorely tempting. But I dare not do or get involved in anything that could make the Royals aware of my…."

Revolta broke out in fit of malicious laughter, and stepped closer to the Klown to caress his face in strangely affectionate manner.

"My dear Zombozo", she smirked, "who do you think we're going after ultimately?"

xxXXxx

Venus sat contemplating in her room. Throughout the day, several of her friends had approached to tell her how bad Joe felt and how sorry he was; and that he wanted to explain if and when she was willing to listen. Duncan and DJ particularly 'went to bat' for their old friend, explaining that he would never intentionally hurt anyone and truly would have told her the truth but things got out of control before he could. They also told her that he respected that she didn't want to see him right now.

She was so confused! She hated him for lying to her. She hated him for pretending to be something he wasn't. She hated him for letting her fall in love with him; and yet….she still loved him. The few glances she'd secretly gotten of him, she could see he was hurting, too….and it tugged at her heart.

She got up and left the house, heading for the Whispering Woods. Walking there always seemed to clear her head before. Besides home and the school green-house, this was where she felt most comfortable. Not long after first moving to New Salem, she had found an old tree fort that must've been built for the local children….long since abandoned. With her powers, she had rebuilt it into a living retreat. Few others knew about it, and fewer still had actually been there. She took a seat on the rope swing and got lost in her thoughts and feelings, which kept drifting back to Joe. The love and passion they felt in that last kiss, just before all hell broke loose. She could still feel his warm soft lips on hers. She opened her heart and voice to the night, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

 _Guess mine is not the first heart broken,_

 _My eyes are not the first to cry,_

 _I'm not the first to know there's_

 _Just no getting over you_

 _I'm Hopelessly Devoted To You_

 _But now there's no where to hide_

 _Since you smiled and you lied_

 _I'm out of my head_

 _Hopelessly Devoted To You_

 _Hopelessly Devoted To You_

 _I know I'm just a fool who's willing_

 _To sit around and wait for you_

 _But baby can't you see there's nothing else for me to do_

 _I'm hopelessly devoted to you_

 _But now there's no where to hide_

 _Since I ran away and cried_

 _I'm outta my head hopelessly devoted to you_

 _Hopelessly devoted to you_

 _Hopelessly devoted to you_

 _My head is saying "fool, forget him"_

 _My heart is saying "don't let him go"_

 _Hold on to the end that's what I intend to do_

 _I'm hopelessly devoted to you_

 _But now there's no where to hide_

 _Since you put away your pride_

 _I'm outta my head hopelessly devoted to you_

 _Hopelessly devoted to you_

 _Hopelessly devoted to you_

Not far away, a car was cruising down the road. The driver rolled down his window and casually flicked away his still smoldering cigarette butt. Instead of the road or the gravel shoulder, it landed amid the dry leaves, brush, and pine-cones of the forest edge…..and began to smoke.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: The wheels of Fate continue to turn! The villain that changed Ghoulia's fate rises from the past and seeks to reclaim her! Another villain joins the Dark Council!**

 **The song, "Hopelessly Devoted to You", is from "Grease"; in my opinion the greatest live-action musical movie of all time! I did change a few words to make it fit the situation better for my story.**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	44. Chapter 43

**_Hey, Everyone! I had a little trouble with this chapter, but I'm happy with how it came out! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 43

"Thanks for helping me pack up my campsite, guys", Joe said, taking down his tent.

"No problem", DJ said, putting Joe's sleeping bag in the back of the truck.

"You actually picked a pretty good spot", Kenny said as he packed up the cooking equipment and made sure the fire-pit was completely cold.

They finished loading everything into Joe's truck, and were doing one more sweep of the area when….

"Uh, guys? Didn't the sun already set?", Joe asked, looking at the orange glow in the sky ahead, then pointed West. "And over there?"

"Aw, crap!", Duncan cursed, extending his wings and taking off. "It's a forest fire! Call 911! I'm going to see what I can do!"

"I'm coming, too!", Joe yelled. He grabbed a water bottle and slipped it into the pocket of his sleeveless hoodie. Then he touched his truck, becoming steel; and ran after his friend.

With literally a bird's-eye view, Duncan assessed the fire. He saw it was hemmed in on one side by the road, and another by a granite cliff-side, leaving one side where it could spread to the rest of the forest. Joe arrived as he landed.

"We have to make a fire-break!", Duncan said, to which Joe nodded. "We have to knock down these trees and clear the dry leaves and underbrush so the fire can't spread past this point!"

They worked quickly; using their strength to knock trees down away from the oncoming flames, and Duncan using his wings to blow away the flammable debris. They cut a wide enough swath to contain the fire until firefighters could arrive to put it out. They were catching their breath when they heard a faint sound.

"Help! *cough-cough* Someone? Please help!"

"I'll fly up and take a look!", Duncan said, spreading his wings.

"No! The fire is creating unpredictable up-drafts!", Joe told him. "Besides, even **you** can't see through this much smoke! We have to go in on foot."

"We?"

"Right now, I'm as fireproof as you are", he grinned, clanking his steel fist into his hand. They fist-bumped, and walked into the inferno. They followed the faint voice, which grew louder as they got closer. They reached a small clearing with an old tree fort engulfed in flames. They saw a crumpled form on the ground, one that Joe recognized immediately.

"Venus!", he shouted, rushing over to her.

"J-Joe? Is that you?", she asked weakly, coughing as he helped her to stand.

"Yeah, it's me", he said. "Lets get you outta here!"

"We can't just walk her through the fire!", Duncan said.

"Yes", Joe said, pulling out the bottle of water and opening it, "I can!"

He poured the water on himself, and turned into water. He took her hand in his.

"Stay close and follow me", Joe told her, and she nodded.

"I'll lead the way", Duncan said, following the path back out.

Duncan knocked aside burning debris when needed, and Joe sprayed water on the path ahead of Venus and himself.

"Here's the way out!", Duncan yelled, as he got out into the clearing they'd made as a fire-break. Joe and Venus were about to follow when an entire burning tree collapsed in front of them, cutting them off.

"NO!" Duncan yelled.

Joe tried spraying water on it, but it was too big and the fire too hot for that to work.

"I'm getting you out of here", he told Venus. "Get ready to run!"

Joe threw himself on the burning tree, dousing the flames in a section just wide enough for Venus to throw herself over and out into the clearing as Joe was evaporated, turning into steam.

"JOE!", Venus screamed, and Duncan had to pull her away from the flames. "H-he….sacrificed himself... for me." She started to cry uncontrollably.

The local firefighters, both normie and monster, arrived and began to fight the fire, bringing it under control. The Fire Chief and Fire Marshal arrived. The fire was still burning, but it was contained and controllable, they would have it out shortly. DJ arrived with Kenny, in the truck and Jeep respectively. The EMT's looked Venus and Duncan over and cleared them, though Venus was still distraught over Joe.

The Fire Chief approached them.

"Did you make this fire-break?", he asked them.

"My friend and I did", Duncan explained. "Then we went in when we heard someone, found Venus and got her out."

"That was very brave, and good thinking", the Chief was impressed. "That fire-break probably saved the forest, and possibly a good chunk of the town."

"But our friend….", DJ said, and Venus started crying again.

Behind them, steam from the extinguished part of the fire began to come together into a shape, condensing tighter and tighter into a human-like form made of water.

"LOOK!", Duncan shouted when he saw it. The others all looked in astonishment as the water-man turned into a naked flesh & blood Joe, who collapsed and fell forward.

"JOE!", they all yelled, rushing forward. Duncan helped him sit up. Venus blushed and tossed him her vest to cover himself. He blushed bright red when he realized he was wearing nothing but his tattoos.

"Uuugh….Remind me to never do that again", he groaned. "I didn't know if I could pull myself back together."

"Good to have you back , buddy", DJ smiled, handing him some clothes. After getting dressed, Joe was checked out and cleared by the EMT. Then he walked over to Venus.

"Are you OK?"

Venus gulped nervously, trying to avoid direct contact with his big brown eyes that looked like the very earth that sustains her. He had selflessly saved her without concern for his own life. She knew she had to swallow her pride and at least thank him. She knew how very sorry he was for what happened at the drive-in, but was she ready to forgive him for deceiving her? For hiding behind a false mask so she wouldn't know his true nature? She looked up into those brown eyes again, and she knew the answer.

"No. I'm not OK", she said quietly. Joe's face grew concerned, until Venus threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. After a moment or two of shock, Joe returned and deepened the kiss. They stayed that way for what seemed like forever, nothing else existing but them. Eventually, they seperated when the need for air became insistent, smiles on both their faces. They looked up to see the snickering faces of Duncan, DJ, Kenny, and the Fire Chief.

" **Now** I'm ok", she smirked.

xxXXxx

Dr. Norman Ozborn was frustrated. It had been more than six weeks since the last reported sighting of his wayward step-son. How he kept escaping was testament to his powers and resourcefulness. Fortunately, Ozborn was able to get enough data while he still had the boy to re-open the adaptive-materials project and make some minor progress….just enough to keep his MEGTAF superiors support. But he needed that boy!

Sooner or later, he would be forced to use his powers publicly, and they would find him! And this time there would be no escape. Ozborn had equipped his capture team with prototype adaptive armor and taser-weapons equipped with titanium barbs. Even if he turned into titanium, they would still have pierced his skin first, and shock him unconcious!

"Dr. Ozborn!"

"What is it, Jonson?", Ozborn snapped at his security chief.

"We have a possible sighting of your step-son, sir!", the burly man in uniform smirked.

"Where?! Show me!"

"A town called New Salem", Jonson said, going to a computer, he plugged in a flashdrive. "This video of a brawl in a drive-in theatre was posted just last night!"

Ozborn watched the video, and a malicious grin split his face.

"It's him!", he laughed. "Good work, Jonson! Get me all available data on New Salem….NOW! And send in a few undercover agents to narrow the search; find and report his exact location. I will supervise the capture team personally."

xxXXxx

Kenny drove Duncan and DJ home in his Jeep, enabling Joe to drive Venus home in his truck. He took the opportunity to tell her everything, the whole truth. She found what his step-father had done appalling and her heart broke for him when she learned he was now an ophan. She also now believed him that he had never meant to hurt her.

"I'm sorry we couldn't save your little sanctuary there", he said sadly as he walked her to her door.

"Joe", she said in a reassuring voice, and cupped his cheek with her hand, looking into his eyes, "It was just a place. **_You saved my life!_** And for all you knew, you could've **died** doing what you did."

She placed her other hand on his heart, and remembering the line from 'Avatar' she said, "I see you."

His heart swelled. He knew what that meant. He mirrored her; placing one hand on her heart and the other on her cheek.

"I see you", he answered. Then they kissed, deeply and passionately.

"Good night, Joe", she smiled coyly after they separated and she opened the door to step inside. "See you in school tomorrow?"

"Yes", he said breathlessly, and blew a kiss to her as she closed the door.

xxXXxx

"Well, Joe", Duncan said, helping his friend get settled in, "that couch is actually a futon, so it lays down. It sleeps pretty comfy, too."

"Thanks, bro", Joe said.

"I know we had a busy night", DJ smirked. "But get some sleep. Margaret gets us up at 6:30 on school days."

Joe groaned at that. Still, It would be nice to wake up and take a shower and eat a home-cooked breakfast again, rather than eat camp-fire cooked canned chili and have to use the locker-room showers at school.

"So are things good with you and Venus now?", Kenny asked.

"I think they are", Joe smiled. He'd been through a lot just since he arrived in New Salem, but the best and most surprising thing was Venus, and he had almost lost her due his own fear. But he loves her. And she loves him. He had another chance with her, and he was going to make the most of it.

Joe began to unpack his clothes. While his friends had cool styles; Duncan and DJ leaning toward 'rebel biker' and Kenny more of a 'chill-in-the-hood', Joe liked his own more grunge look, mostly to show off his tattoos. He laughed inwardly. His mom had a fit when his dad took him to get his first tattoo at such a young age. He just kept going to the same family friend for the others over the years until….he sighed at the loss of both his parents, then seethed thinking of his jerk of a step-dad.

At the bottom of his duffle bag, he found and pulled out an olive-green military belt of the type soldiers and Marines might carry pouches of small gear. It was one of the last gifts his dad had given him.

"Your dad's belt?", DJ asked.

"Yup", he said sadly. "I still miss him every day."

"I liked him", Duncan said. "He treated me like a person, not some demon-spawn."

"And he always asked me how my projects were doing or if I'd started anything new", DJ added. Duncan suddenly snapped his fingers.

"I got an idea! We'll make something useful for you with your dad's belt, and you can wear it all the time. To-ya know-honor him."

"Huh? Like what?", Joe asked.

"You'll see!", Duncan smirked. "See ya in the morning, bud."

xxXXxx

"And you say this new zombie girl is called 'Moanica D'Kay'?", Van Hellscream asked of his niece.

"That's right, Uncle", she confirmed. "That really smart zombie, 'Ghoulia Yelps', was totally freaked out by her! Apparently, they have history. I wasn't close enough to get too many more details, but I'm pretty sure I heard the words 'queen zombie'."

" **You're sure?!** ", he asked urgently.

"Yes, Uncle. Why? What's wrong?"

"This is something that could complicate our plans", he said. "Or could possibly be twisted to our advantage. If this 'Moanica' **is** a queen zombie it means that she has the power to turn humans into zombies."

"Disgusting!"

"Yes. And what's more, she will not be able to resist the temptation to do so", Van Hellscream explained. "For her power increases as her army grows! If we can't find a way to use her, I will have to destroy her; and possibly risk exposing our plans to the monster community. For now, just keep an eye on her, Lilith!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: I again took some inspiration from my friend and fellow writer; Creaturemaster, in the scene where Venus forgives Joe.**

 **Reviews and suggestions are always welcome!**

 **xxXXxx**


	45. Chapter 44

**_Hey, Everyone! There is a "time-skip" right at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 44

"Dr. Ozborn, I have the data you requested on New Salem", Jonson said as he entered Ozborn's office carrying a lab lap-top.

"Excellent", he said, working on a hand-held sonic weapon. "I'm busy, so talk."

"It's a fairly large coastal town with two large shopping malls, two high schools, and various other amenities, including the drive-in where the brawl from the video took place. One side of town is almost painfully ordinary."

"And the other side?", he asked.

"Populated by monsters of various species", the security man said. "New Salem has one of the few monster communities that is more than a single species…..many more, in fact. The high school on that side of town is called Monster High, and is well known for welcoming anyone."

"Clever boy", Ozborn smirked maliciously. "He found the **_one_** place where he could conceivably hide in plain sight. That explains why he initially looked like a tree creature in the video, and his 'date' was a plant monster."

"Disgusting", Jonson said.

"True, but still an effective way and perfect place to hide", Ozborn drolled. "Who knows how long he's been there! He could've been there for a month or more, for all we know. Any other information on the town?"

"Only that MEGTAF is keeping a file on the place, as it is a semi-integrated community of humans and monsters. There are two files connected to the town file that I can't access; my security clearance isn't high enough."

"Really? That's odd", Ozborn said as he tried his own clearance to access the files. "Mine is also not high enough. No matter. Have you sent the undercover agents as I ordered?"

"Yes, Sir", he said. "Although, they may have difficulty remaining unnoticed on the monster side of town."

"I don't care how difficult it is!", Ozborn barked. "I want his exact location and routine within a week! He is **not** getting away this time!"

Ozborn was so focused on his step-son, even when re-watching the video; that he failed to recognize DJ, son of his collegue in the cybernetics division Dr. Therasa Troniquez, nor Duncan, the half-kaiju son of Margaret Rosenblatt!

xxXXxx

When they had packed up his campsite last night, Joe grabbed a piece of the tree he first absorbed when he arrived. He used it to take the same form he had been using, as he was still hiding from MEGTAF. When he got to school, no one questioned it.

"Lookin' good, Joe", a familiar feminine voice giggled behind him at the fountain. He turned and embraced Venus with a grin. "It's too bad you still have to hide. I was starting to kinda like your normie look."

"I know it sucks", he said, giving her a quick kiss. "But if they find me, I'll have to run again…..and I don't want to lose you. So I have to blend in with you monsters."

"Actually, dude", DJ said as he arrived with Robecca, Duncan and Clawdeen, "I looked it up. Technically, you **are** a monster; an elemental-type. It doesn't matter how it happened; what matters is what **is** , according to monster law."

"I did some homework, too", Clawdeen smiled. "Fenris told me that you have **all** the rights of any monster, and your step-dad has no right to hunt you for any reason. So the monster community **will** protect you."

"Thanks, both of you", Joe said with a little relief. "But I think I'll keep hiding as long as possible. I don't want to bring trouble to anyone else."

"Here", Duncan said, handing him a large cup. "The barista in the creepateria is pretty good! Clawdeen and I can't start our day without our double chocolate coffincino lattes, but I figured you would like this better."

Joe took a sniff….it smelled yummy so he took a sip…..and had a life-changing experience! He gulped down more before stopping to take a breath.

"This is **really** **_good!_** What is it?"

"French-vanilla-caramel coffincino with cinnamon", Clawdeen smirked. "Duncan told me you prefer caramel over chocolate, so I took a chance and ordered that for you."

"Thanks!"

"No prob."

"I have news!", Draculaura squealed. "My mom is coming to Thanksgiving!"

"Wait, you mean your super-busy, TV horror-boovie host mom is coming home?", Clawd asked, excited.

"Yup! Daddy and I are so happy!"

"I take it she's not home very often?", Duncan asked.

"Nope", Clawdeen said. "Between being on TV every week, putting in personal appearances, her live stage show, and her charities; her family is lucky if she's home a total of four weeks out of the year."

"That's tough", DJ said.

"It's not so bad", Draculaura said. "Daddy is super-busy a lot, too. And they both understand about their careers. It just makes the time we do spend together even more special."

"My parents will be thrilled that she's coming!", Frankie smiled.

It wasn't long before the bell rang, and they all headed inside.

"So you know what to do?", Duncan quietly asked Clawdeen as he handed her the belt Joe's dad gave him.

"Sure, Handsome", she grinned. "Jin, Skelita and I can probably do the whole job during our free period today."

"Clawesome."

xxXXxx

"Ok, I think we're ready', DJ said. He and Robecca had been working on her dad's prototype laser since they found it. They cleaned up the vital components, and replaced those that had deteriorated beyond use.

"Connecting the power now", Robecca said with a smile, connecting the wires to a small generator and power-switch. When she finished, she gave him a quick kiss. "For luck."

DJ flicked the switch. The scientific principle was known to both of them: the raw white light from the light-tube wrapped around the ruby rod would begin bouncing from one end of the rod to the other between the mirror at one end and the partially mirrored surface at the other, building up into a coherent beam that would finally emit from the lesser mirrored end. At first nothing happened, and they thought they had done something wrong. Then a thin beam of visible red light hit the paper target pinned to a block of wood on a table on the far side of the lab!

"We did it!", Robecca cheered, throwing her arms around DJ and pulling him into a deep kiss! They broke the kiss and turned off the laser. They went to inspect the target; to find a small neat hole burned through the paper and a scorch-mark on the wood behind it.

"We sure did!", DJ said, kissing her passionately. When they broke the kiss, they looked into each other's eyes…..then they lunged for each other! They kissed passionately, tongues wrestling, hands roaming over each other's bodies. Robecca especially reveled in his touch, having never felt anything like it before. DJ groped and felt her in all the right places, like he would a real ghoul…..because to him, Robecca **was** a real ghoul! She in turn was fondling and squeezing his family jewels through his pants, and felt his member swell as it hardened.

DJ slid his hands up from her breasts to slip her vest off her shoulders and remove her top as she removed his shirt. He then removed the bustle she wore over her skirt. Their make-out session began to include orally pleasuring each other's necks. And while he reached behind to unzip her skirt, she reached for his belt…..

xxXXxx

Lunchtime, Robecca and DJ joined their friends in the creepateria, unable to wipe the loving and satisfied smiles from their faces whenever they looked at each other.

Everyone was discussing their plans for Thanksgiving as they ate their lunches. Clawdeen finally caught DJ and Robecca share a knowing look, then she sniffed the air…and she knew. She stood to dump her trash and leaned down to whisper to Robecca.

"Congrats, ghoulfriend", she whispered with a knowing smile. The robo-ghoul gasped and blushed.

"Joe", Clawdeen said when she returned, pulling something out of a bag, "Jin, Skelita and I made something for you."

"Oh?", Joe said with surprise.

"I gave her your dad's belt and told her what we wanted", Duncan smirked.

"Kenny and I worked it out", DJ smiled.

Clawdeen, backed up by Jinafire and Skelita, gave him the belt which now had several small, black pouches with magnetic flaps all around it!

"Uh, thanks, guys and ghouls", he said, appreciative but confused. "It looks great, but what's with all the pouches?"

Duncan smiled and reached into his pockets, then handed two small objects to his friend: a one inch steel ball-bearing and a crystal. DJ then handed him a small piece of granite and a small chunk of titanium.

"Those pouches are so you can keep stuff handy to turn into", Duncan smirked.

"Wow, guys!", he said, clicking the belt around his waist and putting the items in pouches. "This is a clawesome idea!"

"This is my contribution", Cleo smiled, handing him an ancient Egyptian gold coin.

Deuce gave him a piece of tire-rubber, Frankie a two-inch flat magnet, and Ghoulia a chunk of lead. Then Lagoona handed him a semi-cubical chunk of translucent white stone.

"What's this?", he asked.

"Lick it", Lagoona giggled. He blinked in confusion, then did as she said. As soon as he did, he knew what it was.

"Salt?"

"Yeah, good idea, Lagoona", Duncan said, then he turned to Joe. "Not long ago, an evil yeti attacked Abby…."

"He surprise Abby!", the yeti ghoul said defensively.

"We know, Abby", he said. "Anyway, Clawdeen and I saved her, but he encased me in ice…..twice! The second time it penetrated my core. Laid me up for almost a week in a hot-spring."

"So that was you who had just recovered from a bad injury when I first arrived", Joe said.

"Yup."

"And salt melts ice", Joe made the connection. "Ok, I get it."

"And you have a few empty pouches left over to add other things you might find useful", Jinafire smiled.

"Including this", Venus smiled, holding the piece of wood from the tree he touched when he first arrived. "I hope you don't mind that I got this from your truck?"

"It was a perfect idea, babe", he smiled, taking the wood and pulling her in for a deep kiss. Then he turned to his friends. "Thank you! All of you!"

xxXXxx

The MEGTAF surveillance team was used to stake-outs. They had deployed into a multi-prong formation to limit the chances of being discovered. There were several undercover individuals positioned around town at key locations, and a three-man group permanently camped out on a hill overlooking Monster High with binoculars and telescopic lenses. When they heard the last bell, they took positions, each watching a different exit. When the student lot was nearly empty….

"Got 'im!", one man said. "Student parking lot, he's with the girl plant monster from the video, and he looks like a tree again!"

"Looks like that truck is his", another said. "That explains how he got this far after his last escape!"

"I'll inform the rest of the team", the third, a woman, told the others; taking out her smartphone and downloading the pic from the telescopic digi-cam to attach to the message.

"Ok, we found him", the first man said. "So what now?"

"We **watch** , you idiot!", barked the woman, who was apparently the team-leader. "We document his routine, locate whatever rock he's hiding under, and keep Dr. Ozborn informed. Then we assist the capture team when we have everything we need."

"The holiday weekend will make things difficult", the second man said. "With no school on Thursday or Friday, we'll be waisting our time here."

"Fine", the team leader said. "We maintain position until school gets out Wednesday. If we or our undercovers don't find his hiding place by then, we will withdraw to a hotel on the human side of town until dawn on Monday."

xxXXxx

"There", Duncan said satisfactorily after tightening the last bolt. "The smoker is ready! We just need wood and something to cook!"

"Cool!", Kenny smiled. "As soon as we have the wood we need, I'll deliver everything over to Frankie's house. That way, we can stop there after school Wednesday night and start that bird slow smoking!"

"You just want an excuse to see Frankie!", DJ snickered.

"I do not!", he said defensively, then smirked. "It's just a **really** awesome bonus."

They all had a laugh at that, then Joe had a question.

"So what kind of wood are you gonna use to smoke the turkey?"

"I did some research", Duncan said. "I'm gonna use a combination of hickory, mesquite, and applewood. And when it's close to done, I'll throw a few granny-smith apples in with the burning wood."

"Sweet!", DJ smirked. "Literally!"

"Thanksgiving at the Stein's is gonna be epic and delicious!", Joe smiled. He was looking forward to the holidays for the first time in years. He missed his parents terribly, but he had a new surrogate family now: a mom and three brothers. Plus he had the extended family of his and their ghoulfriends and their families. And all his new friends at school.

'It's like I finally have a real life again', he thought to himself with a smile.

xxXXxx

It was Wednesday evening, and Dr. Ozborn was getting impatient. The undercover agents and surveillance team had not yet been able to hide where his step-son was living. He wasn't hiding in the usual kind of places that he had before. The team leader reported that she was certain that he was staying in one of the residential areas, and had likely been taken in by a monster family. Unfortunately, it was not his girlfriend, as they had been able to tail his truck to her home when he dropped her off there after school. Somehow, they kept losing him after that; despite the fact they were sure he had not discovered them.

With the holiday weekend nigh, the team leader reported that they would regroup at a human hotel to rest and resume surveillance on Monday.

"Enjoy this respite, you punk", Ozborn said, as if speaking to his absent step-son. "After all, I didn't put an end to your mother's interference just so you could deny me the recognition I deserve! My work will finally give MEGTAF an edge against the kaijus **and** help my 'silent' client in his crusade againt all monster-kind!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Joe is settling into his new life, feeling safe enough to let his guard down and get comfortable. Little does he know that his step-dad's goons are closing in on him! And what exactly did Ozborn mean when he said he "put an end" to Sarah's interference?**

 **Oh! And another lemon! Look for DJ and Robecca in my rated 'M' work "You Make Lemonade"!**

 **Reviews and suggestions are welcome as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	46. Chapter 45: Thanksgiving

**_Hey, Everyone! Mostly holiday fluff this chapter. Batra Belfrey-Dracula is my OC cast in the role of Draculaura's mother. And yes, she is heavily inspired by the greatest TV horror movie host of all time; the incomparable Elvira! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 45: Thanksgiving

"So we add wood to the firebox to keep the smoke and indirect heat going in the big drum", Duncan was explaining to the Steins Wednesday night after he started up the smoker with some of the special woods and a blast of fire-breath. "Then tomorrow morning Kenny will come over early to help you and start adding apples in with the wood."

"We've never had a smoked turkey with Thanksgiving dinner before", Viveka smiled. "With the one I'm roasting in the rotisery and the other in the oven, we'll have plenty of turkey for everyone….plus leftovers."

"And how often should I add wood to the fire, Duncan?", Viktor asked.

"Check the firebox every couple hours", Duncan said. "And if it looks low, add some wood. Try to keep the amounts of each kind of wood as equal as you can for a balanced flavor. Kenny will also take over on that tomorrow and stay on top of it until dinner."

"We're really looking forward to having everyone over tomorrow", Frankie said excitedly.

"I'm already getting hungry", Duncan smirked. "So I better put the spice-rub on the bird and start it smoking."

Duncan covered the turkey with a rub of dried chipotle, cilantro, salt, pepper, a dash of cayenne, and brown sugar. Then he stuffed the cavity with quartered apples and put it in to be smoked until noon tomorrow.

xxXXxx

The big front door to New Castle Dracula clanked shut behind Batra Belfrey-Dracula. She was impeccably dressed from her bat-wing high-heels, her slinky floor-length black dress split from the floor to her right hip and neckline plunging almost to her naval…..showing off her deep cleavage and ginormous breasts. Her gore-geous face was framed by her long red-highlighted black hair. Her smoky eye-shadow showed off her red-eyes perfectly and her full pouty blood-red lips finished the look. Her black fingernailed hands put down her luggage.

"Vhere is my favorite daughter and husband?", she called out loudly with a smirk. Seconds later, three bats flew in front of her and transformed into her husband, daughter, and nephew.

"Mom!", Draculaura squealed, hugging her mother. "I missed you so much!"

"And I missed you, dear", she smiled at her daughter.

"Velcome home, Batra my Love", Dracula drolled, joining the hug and kissing his eternal mate.

"It's great to see you, Aunt Batra", Thad said warmly, stepping forward.

"Thad!", Batra hugged him as soon as she had disentangled herself from her spouse and child. "Vonderful to see you! But you didn't have to come all the vay over here to velcome me home."

"Uh…", he stammered.

"Oh sphinx!", Draculaura face-palmed herself. "We forgot to tell you! Thad is living here with us now."

"Oh? Has something happened?"

"My parents threw me out and disowned me", Thad said dejectedly.

"Vhat?! Vhy?!"

"Because he refused to give up the ghoul he loves", Draculaura said proudly.

"She's a hobgoblin", he explained. "Her name is Jinx Hobgobbs."

"Ugh!", Batra scoffed. "My sister vas **alvays** a snob. Bad enough she thinks my choice of career is scandalous, but to disown her only son for being in love? That's a spooktacular fail! So you'll be coming to the Steins vith us tomorrow?"

"Actually, Jinx and her mom invited me to eat with them", he smiled.

"Oh, I see", his aunt grinned knowingly. "Vell, I'll see plenty of all of you before I'm on the road again. I definitely vant to meet the ghoul who stole your heart and got you to give up that harem you had!"

xxXXxx

"Clawdeen! Clawd! Howleen!", Clawson roared up the stairs. "Get down here right now!"

"Oh my ghoul!", Clawdeen said, a bit worried. "What's got Dad so upset? And right before bed?"

"I don't know, Sis", Clawd said, heading for the stairs. "But he sounds **really** mad."

"Clawdeen", Howleen looked to her older sister hopefully as they followed close behind. "You're the Alpha. Can't you just **make** Dad chill out?"

"Are you pullin' my paw?! I may be the Alpha, but Dad is still 'Dad'!"

The ghouls followed their brother down the stairs, preparing to face their father's ire. As soon as they stepped into the un-living room they heard a familiar voice…

"Surprise!"

They all gaped when they saw a slightly older version of Clawdeen with long blonde hair wearing a black-trimmed red jacket over her gold and black dress and gold high heels over red knee-socks and a pair of round glasses in front of her amber eyes.

"Clawdia!" they all squealed as they rushed over to hug their older sister.

"Sorry for the scare, kids", Clawson chuckled. "But we really wanted this to be a surprise."

"Ha! Mission accomplished, Dad!", Clawd laughed.

"Nevermind that!", Clawdia said, turning to Clawdeen. "Let me hug my sister, the new Alpha!"

"It's so good to see you, big sis!", Clawdeen said, hugging her again. "We all thought you'd be too busy writing in Hauntlywood to make it."

"I finished the script changes they needed, so my bosses told me I could have the holidays with my family", the older sibling told them all. "And when they found out that the new Alpha of all werewolves was my **sister** , they asked me to ask you if they could make a boovie about it, and they would let me write it and give me full writing credit."

"*giggle* Let me think about it, ok, Sis?", she replied. "Even if I agree, it might be better to wait a while to see how I handle the job, right?"

"Fair enough! But right now", Clawdia said with a wicked grin. "I want you to tell me all about your new lifemate! Starting with how you met?"

"*giggle* Uh…Yeah..", Clawdeen smiled as she blushed, while everyone laughed knowingly.

xxXXxx

Thanksgiving day saw the various gatherings of family and friends. DJ went home to spend the holiday weekend with his mother. As promised, Kenny arrived at the Stein home a little after 9 am to take over at the smoker and assist Viveka and Frankie in the kitchen. Frankie greeted him with a warm hug and deep kiss. First thing, he loaded the firebox with all three types of wood and several green apples. Everyone who came near were treated to the divine smell of the smoking turkey.

Everyone coming to the Stein home for dinner were bringing side-dishes or desserts. The first to arrive, after Kenny of course, was the Wolf family. They brought Harriet's cheddar-cheesy mashed potatoes, seasoned peas & corn, and two homemade apple pies, plus vanilla ice s-cream.

Next came the Dracula's, who brought the dinner-rolls, salad, and pickled beats, gherkins, and dill pickle spears. Batra was greeted warmly by her old friends Viktor and Viveka, while Draculaura joined Frankie and the Wolf siblings.

Finally, Margaret arrived with Duncan and Joe. They brought apple-cranberry cornbread stuffing, two pumpkin pies, whipped cream, and secret ingredients to make the gravy. Kenny joined them when they arrived, after tossing a few more apples in the firebox.

"Ah! Margaret", Dracula drolled, "may I present my beautiful wife, Batra? Batra, my dear, this is Margaret Rosenblatt, her sons Duncan and Kenny, and their friend Joseph."

"A pleasure!", Batra said, shaking Margaret's hand. "I have heard many vonderful things about you and your boys!"

"Thank you. And the pleasure is mine", Margaret replied. "And might I add, that the TV camera does not do your beauty justice."

"You are too kind!", the vampiress said. "A shame that cameras require special lenses to see me at all."

Meanwhile, Clawdeen was introducing the others to her older sister.

"….and, last but not least, this is Duncan", she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Guys? This is my older sister, Clawdia, the Hauntlywood screen-writer."

"Hello", Kenny smiled.

"Hey", Joe smirked.

"Nice to meet you", Duncan said. "We've heard a lot of good things about you."

"Nothin' but vicious lies, I tell ya!", Clawdia joked. "So you're the 'Duncan' my sister can't shut up about?"

"Lies! Vicious lies!", Duncan said, going with the joke, only to get playfully slapped on the shoulder by Clawdeen.

"Very funny, Hot-Stuff!", she smiled.

"Well, you weren't kiddin', Sis!", Clawdia smiled. "He **is** dreamy. Well, Duncan, my sis told me your love-story, but now I want to hear it from your side?"

"Maybe later", he laughed, blushing slightly. "Right now, I gotta go check the turkey we got smoking. Excuse me for a few?"

"Wow, Sis", Clawdia said as he walked outside. "Your love-story alone would make an awesome boovie! Throw in the whole "double-destiny" angle of you both being royals and we got a hit for all time! And you two look so great together; definitely leading man and leading lady material!"

"Thanks, Sis. But we kinda just want time for ourselves right now."

"I understand, Clawdeen", the older she-wolf said warmly. "But when you're ready….?"

"The script is all yours", Clawdeen smiled, as Duncan returned.

"The smoked bird will be ready just in time for dinner", he said.

"Just about the same time as the other two turkeys and everything else", Viveka said. "So, anyone helping me in the kitchen, let's go. The spookball game is on in the un-living room. And the game room is all set-up for boovies and video games."

Margaret, Batra, and Harriet went with Viveka, although Duncan assured them that he would help if they needed him. Viktor and Dracula went to watch the game, while the teens went to play video games.

xxXXxx

"Thank you for inviting me", Thad said to Jinx and Lexxa.

"Please", Jinx said, "it's us who should thank you."

"Yes, the holidays will not be easy for us this year", Lexxa said wistfully. Thad was about to ask why, when he remembered…..

"It's your first holiday without Torq", he said in understanding. "I know how you feel, after what happened with my parents."

Lexxa and Jinx nodded in thanks, then shook off the blues and smiled.

"Well, dinner is almost ready", Lexxa said cheerfully. "You two help yourselves to the snacks and TV."

As they sat and watched an old boovie snuggled together, Thad noticed that Jinx was snacking a lot more than normal. He figured it was proably just the holiday, and the snacks were delicious. It wasn't long until Lexxa called them to dinner. When they sat down, Lexxa turned to Thad.

"Our tradition is that guests give thanks first and tell what they are most thankful for", she smiled.

"Uh…ok. I'm thankful to my ancestors for the kindness and support my aunt, uncle and cousin. And I'm even more thankful that I have Jinx in my life."

"Aw! That's so sweet, Thad!", Jinx gushed as she blushed. "Me next! I'm thankful for my mom and all my new friends, and for Thad, of course. Which leads me to what I'm most thankful for(she bit her lower lip, took Thad's hand, and looked into his eyes). I'm most thankful that we have so much food today because….(she placed Thad's hand on her belly)…I'm eating for **_two_**."

Lexxa inhaled sharply in joy. It took Thad a minute to get the hint. Then his eyes widened as it sank in.

"You mean you're…?(she nodded with a smile)…and I'm….?(another nod, smile widening)", he was overwhelmed. Then he remembered, ever since they officially got together, they had been having sex at virtually every opportunity! Sex so mind-blowingly fangtastic that protection never even occurred to him!

"That's wonderful, dear!", Lexxa cried, getting up to hug her daughter joyfully; then pulled the shocked Thad into the embrace. "I'm so happy for both of you!"

"Thad? Are you ok?", Jinx asked, seeing how stunned he was.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine", he said. "But aren't we a bit….young to be parents?"

"Thad, don't you want to have children with me?", she asked, deflating a little.

"Y-yes! Of course I do", he reassured her. "I just thought it wouldn't be until we're older and…well…married."

"Thad, as you know, marriage is rare among our community", Lexxa said. "And the raising of children is the responsibility of the whole community with fathers usually only being involved in that capacity. Having children at your age is not uncommon among us."

"I know, it's just", he started….he took a breath, and took the plunge. "I want to do more than that. I want to be a good, supportive dad to my children and…I want to marry Jinx and be a family as soon as we legally can…..if she'll have me?"

Jinx's face brightened and she threw her arms around Thad's neck and kissed him passionately.

"Yes! Of course I will!"

"Well, now that that's settled", Lexxa smiled, taking her seat again. "I'm most thankful that my home is soon to be blessed with a new life! Now let's eat!"

xxXXxx

Dinner was well under way at the Stein house. Viktor, Clawson, and Duncan took carving duty on the turkeys after everyone had given thanks. The smoked turkey was a big hit, being moist and a perfect balance of smoky, savory, and sweet. Duncan took drippings from all three birds and added the secret ingredients, including some white zinfandel wine, to make the gravy.

All the food was delicious, the wine and soda flowed, and the conversation was pleasant; as Clawdia and Batra got caught up with everyone they knew and got to know the newcomers. While the pies were being warmed in the oven for dessert, Draculaura got a text from her cousin….and she fell off her chair when she read it!

"Oh! My! Ghoul!", she squealed.

"What is it, Draculaura?", Clawd asked.

"Jinx is pregnant!"

"WHAT?!", everyone exclaimed.

"Jinx is pregnant!", she repeated. "She just told Thad! He's gonna be a daddy!"

"*ahem*Vell", Dracula said, "this is unexpected."

"Yes", Batra agreed. "But ve vill give him and Jinx all the help and support they need."

"That's great, Mom!", Draculaura said, as she got a text from Jinx. "Jinx says her mom and the whole Subterran community will help, too!"

"I guess it won't be too long until she has to take a break from fearleading, too", Frankie said.

"We can handle it", Clawdeen said. "Plus, we're her friends! We're all gonna help, too!"

"I have an idea", Margaret said. "A way to help Jinx, and every monster parent in need in town…."

xxXXxx

"It's still so hard to believe you're the sister of my Grandma Jordan", Claire's mom said to Boodika as the family sat at dinner. "I mean, you don't look much older than me, except for your hair, of course."

"It's my magick", she explained with a warm smile. "Witches and wizards who use their power responsibly to help others and for the greater good are granted an extended life-span…..a gift that I am certain Mother Gaia will grant to Claire one day."

"And Grandma Jordan?"

"She willingly gave up her magic for love", Boodika smiled. "I met your grandfather when they first fell in love. He was a good man. Our mother had no cause to do what she did. She gave my sister an ultimatum: either her magick or her love; she couldn't have both. Mother was actually surprised when she chose love. Mother was furious. That's why Jordanna took her love and came here to Scare-mer…I mean America, to protect him from her wrath."

"That's sad….and kinda romantic", Claire said.

"Yes",Boodika agreed with a mild chuckle, then took a sadder tone. "I missed my older sister terribly. For years I hated Mother for what she did….until I learned she paid a high price for it. Forcing such a choice on one's own child was against the nature of magick, and Mother Gaia stripped her of her extended life-span, so she aged normally. I felt such punishment was enough, so I forgave her and continued my magickal studies. Father gave up his extended life-span to age along-side her, so great was his love for her. When he made that choice, I think Mother finally understood why Jordanna made the choice she did. They have both been gone for many years now."

"Well, now you have family again, Aunt Boodika", Claire said with a smile, and her parents agreed.

"Thank you", Boodika said, tears in her eyes. "And thank you for this delicious meal! I promise my pumpkin pies will be a worthy dessert. I made them from fresh pumpkins."

xxXXxx

"That's the latest update, Uncle Van", Lilith said as they ate Thanksgiving dinner with her uncle's best and most trusted followers.

"Well done, my dear Lilith", he replied, taking a sip of wine. "My scientists have almost completed production of Nth metal armor and weapons for my hunters. The addition of adaptive materials, thanks to Dr. Ozborn, will only make us even more formidable."

"Not to question your judgement, Uncle", she asked carefully as she scooped up a fork-full of turkey and masked potatoes & gravy. "But how much longer do I have to be like **this** (indicating her monster form)? Having these powers is kinda fun, but I miss being human."

"Fear not, dear niece", he replied, stamping down his revulsion at her comment of enjoying **any** part of being a monster. "Your deep-cover mission is **vital** to my plans. So you will remain in place for now."

"Understood", she said dejectedly. "May I at least call Jason? I miss him, and I'm sure he misses me. He might start asking questions."

"Very well", Hellscream conceded. He didn't particularly like her boyfriend…..he was too casually accepting of monsters for his taste. However, he was smart, and if he started investigating it could jeopardize his plans. "But stick to your cover story of travelling with me, understood?"

"Yes! Thanks, Uncle Van!", she squealed, hugging him. He again stamped down his revulsion.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: With all the holiday fluff, I thought I would take the opportunity to include something important as well. With so many pairings in my story, I thought it only fair to showcase one that resulted in a teen pregnancy. I personally believe in a woman's right to choose, but I also believe in the right of others to believe differently. So, in this chapter, I decided to show how a teen pregnancy should be handled in the given situation: the father willing to step up responsibly, and the families willing to accept the situation and support the couple without being ruled by anger. I do not agree with any adults whose first reaction is to feel that either teen should be punished or not helped for 'being irresponsible'. However, I have no sympathy for a father who does not step up and support the mother in whatever decision she makes; or is at least willing to discuss it before a decision is made, then support her…. and their child if that is the choice she makes.**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	47. Chapter 46

**_Hey, Everyone! A few surprises plus some set-up for later this chapter. My OC, Detective Murphy, whom we saw at the Drive-In; is inspired by the character of Detective Danny Reagan from the TV series "Blue Bloods"._**

Chapter 46

Hudson's Bluff was the normie equivalent to the monsters' "Inspiration Point"; a place where normie teens park with their dates for a little 'alone time' overlooking their side of Gloom Beach. This Saturday night, however, there was only one car parked there; a red Corvette with all the high-end bells & whistles. Mike Richardson and Tiffany Kase had already talked about how their Thanksgivings went, including many complaints about various visiting relatives, especially younger cousins messing up their stuff or just being annoying.

They were now making out feverishly. Mike had her top open and was groping her bra-covered breasts while his other hand was up her skirt and inside her panties.

'Oh, yeah!', he thought to himself. 'I'm definitely gettin' laid tonight! It's almost **too** easy to push this nympho's buttons now!'

There was a sudden *THUMP!* on the hood of his car. They looked up in surprise to see some guy kneeling on the hood, moaning as he stared into the windshield. Tiffany hurriedly buttoned her top, while Mike pulled his letterman jacket back on and got out, snarling in rage.

"What the hell do you think you're doin', pervert!", he growled. "Get the hell off my car and get outta here!"

The 'guy' looked at him with glowing orange eyes and moaned again. By now, Tiffany had stepped out of the car as well.

"EW!", she whined. "It's a zombie! Make it leave, Mike!"

"Filthy monster!", he growled. "Crawl back to your grave on your side of town before I pound ya!"

It was then that Mike and Tiffany heard more moans and groans coming from all around them. They looked, and saw at least a dozen more zombies shuffle out of the gloom; surrounding them.

"Such poor manners from such….sophisticated normies", a sarcastic, Spanish-accented female zombie said as she stepped even closer to them; her eyes glowing an eerie soft spectral blue. "He was never in a grave."

Tiffany stepped closer to Mike as she began to feel afraid, as he stood his ground.

"I don't care!", Mike said heatedly. "You and your walking dead buddies are on the wrong side of town, you undead bitch!"

"You two are Mike and Tiffany, right?", Moanica said with a malicious smile that even Mike was starting to find un-nerving. "I heard about you at Monster High. There are **some** monsters there who think that normies like you only hate us because you don't know us. **_I_** say what better way is there for you to get to know us…..than by **becoming** **_one_** of us!"

Moanica lunged both hands at them, sinking her sharp nails into both their necks before they could react! Mike heard Tiffany scream as he felt his life-force being drained…..drained and replaced with…. something….else. It was also getting…hard…to….think…right….What was he doing? Can't….. remember…He saw the beautiful she-zombie in front of him…..his queen.

Moanica grinned at her handy-work, and felt the life-force surge within her; increasing her power.

"You two are pretty", she cooed. "Maybe together you two can keep me satisfied until I have my Ghoulia back. Between the zombies at school I now control and the foolish normies I trap like you, soon I will be unstoppable! Welcome to my zomboy army!"

xxXXxx

Sunday afternoon saw multiple police cruisers on Hudson's Bluff, the whole area taped off as a crime-scene. When New Salem High's 'power-couple' didn't come home, both sets of wealthy influential parents called the police demanding immediate action to find their children! It didn't take too long until Mike's car was found still parked on Hudson's Bluff.

"Ok, officers, what do we got?", Detective Murphy asked when he arrived.

"My partner and I were first-on-the-scene, Detective", a rookie officer said. "We found young Richardson's car here, unlocked, and with the keys still in the ignition."

"Did you try to start it?"

"No, Detective. I didn't want to risk compromising the scene."

"Good thinkin', rookie", Murphy said encouragingly. "Keep that head on your shoulders and you'll go far in this department."

"I'm done with the car, Detective Murphy", the young forensics tech told him.

Murphy got in the driver seat and turned the key. The Corvette started right up and purred like a kitten. Murphy turned it back off.

"Well, they didn't have car trouble."

"Detective?", the rookie called. "My partner and I looked the area over with our back-up when they arrived. We saw evidence that the car was surrounded by several people."

"Any evidence of a struggle or drag-marks?"

"No, Sir."

"Then they left on foot willingly", Murphy deduced, but that didn't add up. Mike Richardson had had several minor run-ins with the department. He was a spoiled star-athlete rich-kid whose mommy and daddy always saved his ass. This car was his pride and joy. He would **never** willingly leave it unlocked with the keys in it.

xxXXxx

Monday morning, the guys and ghouls were gathered at the fountain before class; swapping stories about their holiday weekend. Ghoulia suddenly huddled closer to Slo-Mo, as Moanica walked by a short distance away; leading her zomboys, which now included a ghoul. She looked familiar, but no one could place her. Moanica blew a kiss at Ghoulia before going inside.

"Is it just me", Clawdeen asked, "or does she have more zombies with her every time we see her?"

"It's not just you", DJ confirmed. "Her group has increased by at least eight since she first arrived, according to my records and scans."

"Awhuh! Aeiohuh!"

"I think you're right, Ghoulia", Cleo said. "She must be recruiting other zombies here at school; putting them under her influence!"

"Don't worry, Ghoulia", Frankie said. "We won't let her anywhere near you or Slo-Mo."

"I think it's more than that", Duncan said gravely. "There are a few new zombies with her that I don't recognize, and they weren't with her on her first day either."

"So she's either raising the dead, recruiting from out of town…", Frankie began.

"Or she's turning normies!", Clawdeen finished.

"Raythe and I could keep an eye on them if you want?", Twyla said as she approached with Raythe.

"Are you sure, Twyla? Raythe?", Frankie asked.

"Sure", Raythe smiled. "Twyla can disappear into the shadows. And as a dark-elf, I'm a natural at sneaking around."

"Ok", Duncan said. "But be careful."

xxXXxx

Lilith was shocked and angry! She recognized Moanica's newest recruits as Mike Richardson and Tiffany Kase! Mike was even still wearing his New Salem High letterman jacket! No one else saw that because he was walking in the center of the group. The jacket was probably hanging in a locker by now. Her uncle was right about Moanica! If nothing else, this confirmed how badly her uncle needed her here undercover!

Still, the phone call with Jason was nice. She missed him, and he missed her. She knew her uncle was unsure about him. Jason neither hated nor liked monsters. He simply accepted that they exist, as if there was no difference between them and other….er, **normal** people. She sighed, imagining how disgusted he would be if he saw her now. That thought broke her heart. She had fallen in love with him the first time she looked into his dreamy green eyes. His brown hair was buzzed half-way up both sides while he kept the top kinda long and messy and tossed toward one side. He favored his faded black jean jacket with t-shirts and ripped blue jeans with his high-top sneakers. He was also very 'MacGyver'-like in the way he could fix things or solve problems with the simplest things. She couldn't wait until she was human again and kissing him wrapped in his big strong arms.

She shook her head vigorously.

'Gotta keep my head in the game', she told herself. There would be plenty of time to catch up on lovin' with Jason when her task was complete. Until then, Uncle Van said she could call and text Jason once or twice a week.

xxXXxx

Jinx arrived at the fountain arm-in-arm with Thad. The others all offering congratulations and any help they might need. The expecting parents thanked everyone gratefully.

"Jinx, you can count on the Fashion Club to help you with your clothes as the months pass", Clawdeen told her, with Jinafire and Skelita agreeing. "Between the three of us, we will make you the most fashionable expecting mother ever!"

"Totes clawesome, ghouls! Thanks!"

"Right now", Thad said, a bit uneasy, "I really need all of you for some moral support here for something important."

"You can count on us, Thad", Joe said, and everyone agreed. "What's up?"

"I have to call and tell my parents…..", the group voiced various levels of dismay at this until he calmed them down. "I know they threw me out and disowned me; but they have a right to know and it should come from me. Who knows? Maybe they'll change their tune on everything if they know I'm gonna be a father?"

Their friends surrounded Jinx and Thad as he dialed his iCoffin and put it on speaker. After a few rings, it was answered.

"Thad, darling!", his mom's voice rang through. "Vonderful of you to call! I take it this means you have come to your senses?"

Thad bristled a little at that, then Jinx put a loving hand on his shoulder.

"No, Mom, I'm still with Jinx and I'm more determined than ever to stay with her forever."

"Then vhy have you called?", she asked in a much icier tone.

"Because of the **reason** I'm more determined than ever", he said, staying strong. "And I knew Dad would still be awake at this time so I could tell you both at once."

"Vhat is it, Thad?", his dad asked grumpily.

"Vhat could you possibly have to tell us if you are staying vith that filthy hob?", his mother sniped, causing Jinx to flinch slightly.

"I called to tell you that Jinx is pregnant and I'm the father!"

 ** _"VHAT?!"_** , they then went off on a litany of rants too incoherent to understand!

"Will you both just **shut up!** ", Thad yelled. " ** _I'm going to marry Jinx_** , and we are going to be a family as soon as we legally can! If you **ever** want to know this child, or any other future grandchildren, then **_you're_** the ones who need to come to your senses!"

"How **dare** you betray your scare-itage this vay!", his father snarled.

"Vhere did I go wrong?", his mother cried in the background.

"You vill get **nothing** from us until you come to your senses and leave that filthy hob and all this foolishness behind!", his father said. "And that is the **final word!** "

"Fine!", Thad snarled. "We have Uncle Dracula, Aunt Batra, Cousin Draculaura, Jinx's mom, and all our friends! We don't need **anything** from you!"

"My sister **_approves_** of this?!", his mother shrieked.

"That's right!", Thad said smugly. "So good-bye, Mom & Dad. If you ever change your minds, call me."

He hung up then, and slumped from the emotional effort. Jinx hugged him and gave him a kiss.

"Good for you, dude", Deuce said, offering a fist-bump.

"That took a lot of courage, Thad", Duncan said approvingly.

"Totes", Clawdeen smirked. "You're a far-cry from the selfish punk you used to be."

"I am totes proud of you, Cousin!", Draculaura smiled.

"Thanks", he said genuinely. "And thanks for letting me handle it myself. I could tell a few of you were about to jump in and help; thanks for holding back."

xxXXxx

"So what do you think, Grace?", Margaret asked after explaining her idea.

"I think it has possibilities", Bloodgood replied. "Setting up a day-care center here at Monster High while offering child-care training to our students as an elective vocational class is brilliant! I know of several Monster moms and parents in need of quality child-care for their little-ones."

"Plus teen moms would still be able to attend Monster High if their babies and toddlers were here", Margaret added.

"Yes, and given what you've told me about Jinx Hobgobbs, this is an idea whose time has come", Bloodgood agreed. "I will take it to the Monster School Board immediately. If all goes well, we can have it prepped and ready for next semester!"

xxXXxx

"My army grows", Moanica grinned. She had taken over a large abandoned manor, and had the bulk of her army there with her. She allowed her recruits from school to reside with their families so as not to draw too much unwanted attention. "Soon I will be powerful enough to take Ghoulia under my control again! Ah, she was a lover like no other! And then her big brain will help me with my other plan!"

"Brains?", her zomboys perked up, hopeful for a treat.

"Ugh! No! There are no brains!", she huffed, exasperated. **This** was why she loved Ghoulia and wanted her back so badly; most of her zomboys were dumber than a box of rocks! Even the born zombies from school that she'd recruited were at least a **little** smarter than those she made or raised from the dead.

At Monster High she'd heard about Graveyard Prep, the zombie high school, and decided that would be her next stop when she was done with New Salem. She laughed maliciously when she thought about how that would swell her army! But for now, she had an 'itch to scratch' tonight.

"You two pretty ones!", she directed at Mike and Tiffany. "Come with me to the bedroom. And take your clothes off, por favor."

They moaned as they followed obediently, shedding their clothes as they shuffled after her.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: What is Moanica up to? Wait and see! I hope you all like my take on how Moanica turns normies into zombies. I figured it would make the most sense, given that my AU** ** _only_** **has** ** _supernatural_** **zombies. I HATE most zombies and zombie lore these days! IMHO there is way too much of a glut of zombies in every media! As far as I'm concerned, as of summer of 2013(when 'Pacific Rim' came out) zombies are DEAD because the KAIJUS HAVE RETURNED! This opinion was only re-enforced in the summer of 2014 when Godzilla, the KING of the kaijus(LONG LIVE THE KING!) returned as well!**

 **But I digress: I thought it would make sense that Moanica drains life-force from her normie victims and replaces it with the 'zombie-curse', while that life-force increases her own power in proximity to the zombies within her control. Thus, the more zombies she creates and/or controls; the greater her power. She is also able to reanimate dead normies as zomboys in her control, if they haven't decayed too much.**

 **What would you all think about a lemon of Moanica with Mike and Tiffany in my Rated 'M' work?**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are welcome as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	48. Chapter 47

**_Hey, Everyone! Some exciting stuff this chapter! Some secrets of the past revealed, and clues to threats later on! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 47

"Well, Guys", Duncan said, wiping grease off his hands with a rag, "both your vehicles are now solar hybrids than can run on alternative fuels, just like ours."

"Sweet!", DJ said while using another rag.

"Awesome!", Joe said as he rolled out from under his pick-up.

"Now let's fill your tanks with our fuel", Kenny said, going to the pump and drums of converted fryer-oil.

"Nice", Joe said as his tank was filled. "You know, my truck could make picking up the used oil easier, not to mention carry more at once."

"Cool", Duncan smirked.

"Ok, you grease-monkees", Margaret smiled. "Get cleaned up for dinner."

xxXXxx

While everyone else was sleeping, Kenny and DJ were busy trying to hack the sytem at the facility Joe had escaped from months ago. Not an easy task through the internet. It helped that, thanks to Margaret, they had access to the MEGTAF network. Kenny had the hacking skills, while DJ's tech provided greater speed and processing power. They knew their moms were already doing some digging at MEGTAF, but they were limited to quietly calling in favors from friends, as going through proper channels would likely alert Ozborn to their intentions.

"We're in!", Kenny whispered earnestly. "That was the last firewall! Now a little poking around…here it is! Records of just how nasty the tests Ozborn did to Joe were! No way this crap was legal!"

"Nor was how they were holding him", DJ said. "Doped up and in a cell that would make solitary in prison look like a five-star hotel. What's that?"

"Looks like the security camera feeds", Kenny said.

"Let's see if they archive the footage", DJ suggested.

"Bingo!", Kenny said. "Now to find the video files from the night his mom helped him escape."

As they watched the various camera angles for that night, they were impressed by Sarah's ingenuity. Finally, they saw the scene Joe had described at the fence and the heartbreaking look on his face as he saw his mother die.

"Well that proves that he didn't kill his mom and that she helped him escape", DJ said, then reverently, "Requiescat impache."

"Yeah, but I want to see how the fence got turned back on", Kenny said, going through the feeds at the same time-stamp to find the answer. "Here it is…..No way!"

"Download all of this!", DJ said urgently. "Now!"

"Done!", Kenny said.

xxXXxx

"Boys! Breakfast!", Margaret called. She quickly stepped aside, lest she be run over by four very hungry teen-agers! Everyone ate their waffles, eggs, and bacon(and charcoal in Duncan's case) and drank their choice of milk, juice or coffee.

"Mom, you know how you have friends quietly digging into Ozborn?", Kenny asked sheepishly.

"Yeeeesss", she replied suspiciously, as she knew the tone he was using.

"Well, DJ and I _kinda_ took a more direct approach."

Margaret groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Do I **want** to know what you two did? Or should I guess?"

"We hacked the facility where they had Joe", DJ and Kenny said simultaneously.

"And you used **my** access to the MEGTAF network to do it", she correctly guessed. "Do you have **any** idea of the shit-storm that…..?"

"Relax, Mom", Kenny said in a reassuring tone. "We covered our tracks. The only thing they'll know is that the files were accessed, **if** that."

"Besides", DJ said, "you all need to see what we found."

Kenny opened his lap-top to show her, Duncan and Joe everything they'd found.

"This proves everything", Margaret said. "I can't condone your methods, but Barnes and his superiors can move on Ozborn with this."

"There's more", DJ said solemnly, as the video footage of the escape came up. Kenny created a split-screen. One side showed Joe as he landed on the ground after climbing over the deactivated fence and Sarah climbing up. The other screen showed the switch panel that worked the electric fence next to the open door they had exited….with Ozborn watching them through the door. He flipped the master switch, reactivating the fence…..while his wife was climbing it.

" **That bastard!** ", Joe yelled. " **He** turned the fence back on! And he **knew** she was on it! That son of a bitch **_killed_** my mom!"

"And he blamed you to fuel the fire of your pursuit", Duncan growled.

"I'll take all of this to Barnes and his superiors", Margaret said. "For now, all of you get to school. Good job you two, but we're gonna have a long talk about hacking government systems when this is over."

xxXXxx

The guys and ghouls were all filled in at the fountain that morning, and all were appalled. Venus did her best to comfort Joe, which was difficult with his rage boiling over as it was. He appreciated the effort, and kissed her tenderly before they went to class. Mr. Rotter caught him inattentively brooding more than once, as did Mr. Hack.

Joe had gotten in the habit of walking down to Gloom Beach during his free period. Today, he really hoped the sound of the waves might help calm him down. Maybe he would watch the on-going construction of that new 'neutral-ground' beach place they were building; a place where monsters and normies could hang-out, grab a burger or pizza and watch live music. "Big KamehaMayhem's" was what it will be called, the owners were a pair of former champion surfers; one monster, the other a normie.

Joe had crossed the open field and was on the path through the tall grass on the way to the beach, when he heard something that made him pause. Suddenly, six soldiers wearing armored MEGTAF uniforms stood up from concealment in the grass, all pointing taser weapons at him.

"Joseph Ramos", the female leader said in an authoritative tone. "Stand down and surrender! You're coming with us back to MEGTAF! Resist and you will be tazed!"

Joe growled as his gaze swept his opponents and assessed the situation. They had set up this ambush perfectly: open ground, no cover, nothing nearby to absorb. They had even caught him before he reached the beach, preventing him from absorbing the sand and simply flowing away! They had learned from their mistakes and his past escapes. Even his current wooden form couldn't take six tasers at once. But then he remembered his new 'fashion accessory'.

"I don't think so", he said with a wicked grin, as he reached into a pouch on his belt.

"Light 'im up!", the woman ordered, and all of them fired at once. The barbs all struck their target and discharged enough voltage to drop an elephant! Instead of falling, Joe charged at the closest soldier and smashed his black hard-rubber fist into his face, knocking him out cold!

"What the hell?!", the leader snarled in disbelief. They had cleared this area of anything he could absorb! How the hell…?! The other soldiers recovered from their surprise and charged in to try and physically overwhelm Joe. He grinned as their nightsticks were useless against his rubberized flesh and he went WWE on them in the melee. His friends always teased him about how 'fake' pro-wrestling is. However, a lot of the moves were extremely effective in real life if done correctly. He clotheslined one soldier, chokeslammed the next, and bull-dogged a third who tried to tackle him from behind. When the clothelined guy started getting up, Joe hit him with a buzz-saw kick, knocking him out with the other three. The next one got a punch in the gut, setting him up for a pile-driver.

Joe turned to the leader, the only one left. She stared in fear as he walked toward her, pulling the taser barbs out of his body.

"You tell my lying, murdering **bastard** of a step-father that I **know** what he did!", he said venomously. "I'm **not** running anymore, and I **dare** him to come after me **himself!** "

Joe then put her in a sleeper hold until she blacked out. He ran back to the school to warn everyone.

xxXXxx

"INCONCEIVABLE!"

Dr. Norman Ozborn was livid upon hearing the report from his capture team!

"Show me the body-cam footage!", he demanded. He poured over every frame when he received it, looking for what was different about his step-son. Joe needed physical contact with a material to absorb its properties, yet he had turned into rubber with none around; and it was the **perfect** defense against the tasers! That was **way** too big a coincidence! Then he saw it: just before the team fired their tasers, the boy reached for something. Another body-cam showed it was a pouch on the military belt his 'spic father had given him! Ozborn hurled his coffee cup against the wall in frustration.

"Clever boy!", he hissed. "No doubt **all** those pouches contain useful materials for him! Now he'll be even harder to catch when he surfaces again!"

"Sir, you need to hear this", Jonson said, switching to the team-leader's body-cam and turning up the sound.

 _"You tell my lying, murdering_ _ **bastard**_ _of a step-father that I_ _ **know**_ _what he did! I'm_ _ **not**_ _running anymore, and I_ _ **dare**_ _him to come after me_ _ **himself!**_ _"_

Ozborn replayed it several times, getting more and more angry each time. That snot-nosed punk **dared** to call him out?! To **challenge** him?! Then he realized what the other part of the message could mean. He checked the computer archives, and found that files, records, and video footage of the boy's 'stay' and escape had been accessed from a remote, unknown location!

"Jonson! Sanitize these records! Then gather team Omega!", Ozborn barked. "Load up on tasers and sonic rifles! We will join Alpha team and personally bring that brat in! Once we have him we can finish weaponizing his powers. My results will override any fallout with MEGTAF!"

"But, sir! We still haven't found where he's living!"

"We know where he goes to school!", Ozborn yelled. "And we know where his girlfriend lives! We **will** find him and when we do, we take him down **_hard!_** "

xxXXxx

Raythe and Twyla were in the li-scary, watching Moanica and her zombie followers. They seemed to be looking through everything they could find about electricity and electrical equipment; batteries, tranformers, capacitors, etc. It was way beyond most of them, but Moanica seemed determined.

"What are they up to?", Raythe whispered.

"I don't know", Tywla replied. "But we can be sure it isn't good."

xxXXxx

Belloc waited patiently on the secluded beach with his ranking council members. Leviathan had made contact, informing him that he had captured one of the rogue sea kaijus. He was bringing the prisoner to Belloc personally for interrogation. It wasn't that Belloc **couldn't** go to sea himself—far from it—but he **did** give Leviathan dominion over the seas. It was a convenient arrangement, and a position the the sea beast had earned in battle. Granted, Leviathan had challenged Belloc for the throne; but he had fought well and honorably, and he was the strongest kaiju in the sea. So rather than simply kill his defeated rival, Belloc offered him a position answerable only to Belloc himself. Leviathan accepted the offer and ruled over the sea kaijus with strength and honor.

Belloc saw a large dome-shaped swell of water approach, far too large to be part of the normal tide. Then a double-row of forward curving spines broke the surface of the dome. The water dropped away as they got closer to shore. The double-row of spines was down the back of a huge, green allosaurus-looking kaiju leading a large crab-like kaiju being restrained by a purple Kraken.

" **My King** ", Leviathan rumbled deeply, bowing his head slightly to Belloc.

" **Greetings, old friend** ", Belloc greeted his old rival. " **Bring the traitor forward.** "

The Kraken released the huge crustacean and shoved him forward. It hissed and waved it's clawless arms ineffectually.

" **His claws?** ", Belloc asked Leviathan curiously.

" **Krabbros tried to escape** ", the Lord of the Sea replied with a grin, then licked his chops. " **They were delicious.** "

Belloc chuckled then turned to Krabbros, who glared defiantly at him.

" **Who is leading you rogues? Where are they hiding? And what are they planning?** ", Belloc demanded. Krabbros glared and remained silent. Belloc angrily back-handed the crab. " **You will** ** _answer_** **your king!** "

" **He who had fallen has risen again!** ", Krabbros hissed venomously. " **You will get** ** _nothing_** **from me, human lover!** "

Belloc roared in rage and blasted the crustacean with a powerful stream of fire, roasting him like seafood platter! Krabbros collapsed dead.

" **Feast to your hearts content** ", Belloc told the others as he turned and stomped away. As all but he and Kraken fell upon the fallen Krabbros, Belloc fumed. Although he had not learned what he wanted to know, he did learn one thing: their leader was one who had been defeated and possibly thought to be dead. 'Rising from the dead' would be a convincing way to claim invincibility, and therefor leadership. But who? What fallen kaiju could have been powerful enough to either survive, or return from the dead?

xxXXxx

"So they know you're here", Duncan said.

"And they know I'm waiting for them", Joe growled. "And I know they're going to come for me again."

"What they don't know is that you have us to back you up!", DJ smirked.

"Yeah!", Venus agreed, hugging her guy.

"Spectra", Clawdeen called the ghost over. "Spread the word to everyone, but **don't** use your blog! They could be watching it."

"I'm on it!", the ghost ghoul saluted then flew off.

"I'll ask Aunt Boodika if the Magick class can set up some early-warning wards around the school and your house", Claire offered.

"Good idea", Duncan said.

"Right now", DJ said, "let's check all our vehicles for tracking devices."

While the others looked over their bikes and his truck, Joe looked off into the distance.

'Here I am, you bastard!', he thought to himself. 'Come and get me! I'm waitin' for ya!'

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: "Big KamehaMayhem's" will feature later in the story as a new hang-out and was inspired by "Big Momma's" in the Disney musical "Teen Beach Movie".**

 **Leviathan resembles the 1998 Tristar version of Godzilla. In my honest opinion, the major mistake they made was calling it "Godzilla". If it had been called** ** _anything_** **else it would stand as a fairly good kaiju film, and the cartoon series it spawned was really good. The design was good enough for me to choose it as the look for the Lord of the Sea Kaijus and second only to Belloc himself. Krabbros is kind of a combo of Onibaba(from Pacific Rim) and Ganimes(from the Toho classic "Space Amoeba").**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	49. Chapter 48

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter will conclude the Joe origin arc. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 48

"By your command", Veron bowed as he spoke; once again standing before the command chair of his master. The chair rotated until Obsidius Blackstar was looking down on his chief minion.

"Speak."

"We have learned nothing new of significance from the transmissions. However, we are now close enough for a more detailed scan of the star system. The fifth and sixth planets are gas giants, and between the fifth and fourth planets is a fairly large asteroid belt. The third planet, Earth, is our target."

"Excellent", the Psion grinned. "We will take on raw materials from the gas giants and the asteroid belt for our on-board factories. We will produce troops and war machines in numbers sufficient to overwhelm any and all resistance. Maintain course and speed. Continue to monitor the transmissions and report your findings to me regularly."

"By your command."

xxXXxx

School had just gotten out, and Joe was on edge. It had been days since his run-in with MEGTAF. He was expecting a faster response from Ozborn.

'Maybe the way I took down his team made him nervous', he grinned to himself. Unfortunately, the capture team was gone before the local authorities arrived.

Margaret had contacted Barnes and sent him everything that DJ and Kenny had found. While understandably miffed at the boys' actions, he promised to take all the records to his superiors and let them decide what actions to take.

"Joe?", Venus put her hand on his shoulder when she said his name, causing him to jump in surprise. "Whoa! Easy, tiger! You are wound way too tight! Here: (she blows a small amount of her pollen in his face). Calm down a little."

He immediately felt more at ease; the persuasive effect of her pollen.

"Thanks, babe", he said genuinely, giving her a quick kiss. "I needed that."

"At least now you don't have to hide anymore", she smiled as she melted into his arms. "Your normie look is growing on me; no pun intended."

"And I thought you were beautiful from the moment you literally fell into my arms", he smiled. "Can I hang with you at your house for a while?"

"Of course", she smiled, then got a naughty look in her eyes. "You know, my parents and cousin won't be home until later, so maybe we could…..?"

Joe blinked in pleasant surprise. He would be lying if he said he hadn't dreamed about getting more… 'intimate' with Venus. He just wasn't sure how that would work.

"I'd like that more than anything, Venus", he said. "But are you sure can actually…you know?"

"Of course we can", she grinned wickedly, biting her lower lip. "I may be a plant, but my body is just like any other ghoul."

"Should I 'go green'?," he asked. "Switch to tree form?"

"Only if you want me to get pregnant", she giggled. "Besides, I confess I've often wondered what it would be like with a non-plant."

They drove to her house. It was a large, one floor, open concept house with large skylights in every room to maximize the amount of sunlight inside. They got out of Joe's truck and held hands as they walked to the door. They were both looking forward to what was to come. They love each other, and they wanted to experience the ultimate physical expression of that love. They were almost to the door…..

They were suddenly struck by sound-waves so loud and concentrated that not only did they cause extreme pain to their ears, but they could feel the shockwaves pelting their bodies. They crumpled in pain, trying desperately to cover their ears. Then Joe felt several barbs pierce his flesh, just before he was shocked unconscious. The sonic attack then stopped. Venus, wobbly and disoriented, still tried to tangle the MEGTAF agents in her vines…only for one to knock her out with a blow from the butt of his weapon.

"Not so tough now, are you, half-breed punk?!", Ozborn said, just before kicking his unconscious step-son in the head. Then he turned to Jonson. "Put the shock-restraints on him, and give me that belt of pockets. There will be no surprises this time. And leave his phone here. We wouldn't want his hacker friends tracking the GPS, now would we?"

"What about the girl?", Jonson asked.

"She is of no interest", he said dismissively. "Leave her, and let's get back to the warehouse. The sooner the cargo plane arrives, the sooner we get back to the lab."

Several black SUV's pulled up. Ozborn and Jonson got in the same one Joe was loaded into while the rest of their men piled into the rest. They left in a hurry.

A few minutes later, Venus came to. When her vision cleared, she saw she was alone, and Joe's phone was on the ground. She dialed her iCoffin.

"Hey, Venus", Duncan said when he answered.

"Duncan! We were attacked outside my house! They took Joe!"

"Dammit!", Duncan cursed. "Tell me everything! Then we'll get some friends together and go get him!"

xxXXxx

"Wakey-wakey, Joseph!", Ozborn sneered, then slapped Joe awake.

"You bastard", Joe growled through grit teeth. "I knew you were coming."

"Really? And yet I still caught you by surprise", Ozborn said snidely while arrogantly displaying the pouch-belt looped over his shoulder. "You won't get away this time. If you try to change form, the restraints will shock you!"

"You killed my mom, you son of a bitch!", Joe yelled. "Your own wife who you claimed to love so much! **_How could you?!"_**

"I DID LOVE HER!", Ozborn snarled. "I loved her from the moment we met in MIT! But she always rejected me! Claimed she didn't want to 'ruin our friendship'! I thought eventually she would see we belonged together. And she would have…..if your jar-head, 'spic father hadn't come out of nowhere and **stolen** her from me!"

"They dated in high-school, you ass-hole!", Joe shouted. "They were together before she ever met you!"

"It doesn't matter!", Ozborn ranted. "If he hadn't shown up when he did, if he'd stayed away just a few more months, she would've been with **me**! He **robbed** me of my chance with her! And then they had **you**. I thought when he died and she married me that she finally loved me…..but no! She only married me out of convenience! It was all about **you**! The constant living reminder of your intellectually inferior father! She **never** loved me….she was never **really** my wife…..not the way she **should've** been!

She undermined and back-stabbed me at MEGTAF. And then when you presented a way for me to shine, she did it again! Well, mommy won't be saving you by hurting me again this time….I saw to that!"

"You're a sick, deluded bastard!", Joe hissed. "The only reason you got into MEGTAF was because she made it a condition of recruiting **her**! As smart as you claim to be, you were **never** her equal! She covered for you as much as she could with MEGTAF, but your superiors **still** saw how mediocre you are!"

"Shut up!"

"As for her always loving my dad and me more than you? GET OVER IT! She still turned to you after he was gone! But that just wasn't enough for you… you just had to demand that she forget about him, despite her true feelings! Do you wanna know the **real** reason she couldn't love you? It was because you **hated** my dad and me with such a passion!"

"I said SHUT UP!", Ozborn roared as he back-handed Joe. "In less than an hour, a cargo plane will land right out there(he pointed to the airstrip behind the warehouse they were in) and take us back to the lab. And in light of the secrets I will unlock from you, my superiors will ignore any unsubstantiated accusations against me. The lab's records have been sanitized."

"My friends will get here long before the plane", Joe smirked.

"We left your phone there with your…ugh!...monster girlfriend", Ozborn sneered. "We'll be long gone by the time anyone could track us here."

"Are you sure about that?", Joe smirked knowingly.

 _ ***KEERAAAASH!***_ The skylight exploded, raining broken glass down into the room as Duncan smashed through it! Ozborn jumped back, just before Duncan surrounded his friend with a ring of flames and landed next to him.

"Your new jewelry sucks, dude", Duncan smirked. "Let me take care of that for ya."

Duncan then broke and removed the shock-restraints from his friend.

"Thanks, bro", Joe said gratefully. "I knew you guys would come for me."

"Don't just stand there you fools!", Ozborn yelled at Jonson and his men. Before they could react, the large loading door opposite the matching door to the airstrip was thrown open to reveal Abby, Robecca, DJ, Frankie, Jinafire, Venus and the Wolf siblings. Abby quickly froze most of the soldiers' weapons. Venus grew vines right through the floor to tangle most of the soldiers. Ozborn and the rest of his men retreated back somewhat, glaring at the monsters. Being unarmed and now out-numbered, they had no choice. Ozborn was shocked when he finally recognized Duncan and DJ.

"How did you find us so fast?", Ozborn demanded.

"Leaving my phone behind was a smart move", Joe said. "A move we were prepared for."

"I built a mini-GPS tracker and planted it in the heel of Joe's left boot after his first run-in with your team", DJ smiled smugly.

"Dr. Norman Ozborn", Clawdeen said with authority. "As Alpha of Werewolves and the highest ranking monster authority present, I accuse you of kidnapping and illegally detaining an innocent monster."

"Are you insane?!", Ozborn sneered. "He's no monster!"

"According to monster law, he is", Clawdeen growled. "And you are breaking the law by violating his monster rights!"

"I am his step-father and legal guardian!"

"By monster law, only a blood-relative can assert legal guardianship over him against his will", Robecca told him. "You have no leg to stand on."

"I'm with MEGTAF!", Ozborn barked. "I do not recognize your authority in any of this!"

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?", a commanding voice shouted. All turned to see Col. Barnes and a platoon of MEGTAF soldiers enter through the same door the monsters had.

"Col. Barnes", Ozborn drolled in smug relief. "You're just in time! These monsters are interfering in a MEGTAF opera…."

"Shut it, Ozborn!", Barnes barked. "High Command is **not** happy with your mad scientist act! To say nothing of how they frown upon **murder!** "

"There's no….!"

"I said **_shut it!_** We have enough on you to have you shot! Agent Jonson!", Barnes turned to the security man.

"Y-Yes, sir?"

"As you and the men & women under your command were only following orders, I'm sure the court-martial will be lenient", Barnes said evenly, then grinned. "Particularly if you all testify against Dr. Ozborn, and place him under arrest right now."

"Yes, Sir", Jonson said, cuffing his former boss.

"MEGTAF will **never** solve the adaptive materials project without me and my step-son!", Ozborn protested.

"Funny you should mention that, Doctor", Barnes smirked. "You see Dr. Troniquez and her team has examined all your findings and the biological data from the boy, and they conclude that they, with the help of one or two other experts, can probably complete the project with what they have and in **half** the time you projected. It would seem that you are as limited as your personnel file and evaluations from superiors have stated."

"NO!"

"Take him away, Jonson!"

"Hold on a sec", Joe called. He walked up to his step-father and took back his belt. After clicking it around his waist, Joe looked him in the eye. He then hauled back his right fist and slugged Ozborn in the face with all his strength, knocking him unceremoniously to the ground. If he had done it in a metal or stone form, it would've killed the man. Ozborn spit blood and a tooth, then glared back at Joe.

"That was for my **mother!** ", Joe growled, as he watched Jonson haul Ozborn back to his feet. "And **this** is for **Venus!** ", and Joe kicked Ozborn in the family jewels with his steel-toed boot!

"And finally", Joe said after Ozborn was pulled upright yet again. "This is for **me!** ", and he slapped Ozborn hard with his open hand, adding insult to injury!

"Feel better, kid?", Barnes asked Joe, as Ozborn was taken away.

"Just a little", Joe admitted, just before Venus embraced him and gave him a kiss.

"C'mon, Bro", Duncan smiled. "It's over. Let's go home."

xxXXxx

Moanica snuggled up to Mike to sleep, with Tiffany spooned behind her. They were adequate to pleasure her enough to get her off, but nowhere near as well as her Ghoulia. She sighed in disappointed longing.

'Ghoulia, my precious Ghoulia', she thought to herself. 'Why did you betray me? **How** did you betray me? No matter. It took weeks for me to climb out of the wretched mine shaft, and then years to find you, but I can forgive you. Soon, you will be **mine** again. Then the normies will pay dearly for what they have done to our kind!'

xxXXxx

Van Hellscream was not happy! He had just heard from Dr. Moreau and Dr. Mechanicles that Dr. Ozborn had been arrested. Ozborn may not have been as brilliant as his colleagues, he was still a useful asset. Perhaps he could still be useful? Van Hellscream dialed his phone.

"Marcus? I know I promised you a vacation when you returned from Greece, but I have an important task for you. MEGTAF will be transporting a Dr. Norman Ozborn to high-security detention soon. You are to secure his release and take him to my secret labs. There he will use his new-found freedom to help our cause."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: That concludes Joe's origin arc, making him a cast regular in my story. What's gonna happen next? Wait and see next time! Same Kaiju Time! Same Kaiju Channel! LOL!**

 **xxXXxx**


	50. Chapter 49

**_Hey, Everyone! A bit of a time-skip here, because I just realized that I'm almost 50 chapters in with this story! And unless I move things along and skip a little fluff, it'll be another 50 before I'm done! Just to clarify: my 'New Salem' is on the West Coast somewhere between Los Angeles and San Diego, and thus remains warm enough during winter that it rarely, if ever, snows._**

 ** _As always, I do not own "Firebreather" or "Monster High", and the OC's "DJ Troniguez" and "Joe Osmos" were created and used with the cooperation of DJ Rodiguez and anime-death-angel. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 49

Crypt-mas break was great for all the guys, ghouls, and their families. At the Fisher home, Claire and her family had a combined Crypt-mas and Winter Solstice spell-ebration with Boodika.

Chase went home with Dani to meet her family and friends. They were all very friendly and accepting of the boy ghost, though Danny did politely warn Chase not to "hurt or try anything funny with Dani" or he would "stuff him into a Fenton Thermos and bury it under Walker's prison 'til the end of time."

Jinafire's father and seven brothers came to visit her and meet Chad. Her father gave them his blessing, as did her brothers after giving Chad a fair amount of good-natured ribbing. They gave Chad a three-sectional staff, and as a gift to his family; who had so warmly welcomed Jin into their midst, they built a beautiful rock garden and shrine in their back yard. Chad's parents gave all nine dragons bansai trees.

Hexiciah Steam dropped in out of the Time-Stream to spend the day with his daughter and lover, both of whom expressed gratitude for his gift of the golden gear to Robecca. Grace was happy to spend time with her true love again. Robecca called DJ to come over and meet his hero, and the two hit it off. Before stepping back into a time portal, he gave the young lovers his blessing.

Raythe and his parents finally got to meet Twyla's dad, the Boogeyman; who despite his reputation was a gracious and friendly host. He took a liking to Raythe nearly as quickly as his parents had to Twyla.

Amid all the holiday festivities, Duncan and Clawdeen also each had their own royal duties. Duncan contacted his father to see if there was any news of the rogue kaijus, to which Belloc informed him of the capture and interrogation of Krabbros. Clawdeen contacted Fenris not only to see if there was anything that required her attention, but also an update on the Greek monster museum investigation. The werewolf volunteers did track down a few previously overlooked clues, as well as identifying the scent of the thief as being normie. The clues led to a thief known as 'the Black Fox' and a hired transporter who could only reveal that the stolen items were sent overseas and likely in the hands of a collector. Unfortunately, the Black Fox eluded capture and his/her true identity was not discovered.

Lilith was beginning to sense the 'distant' attitude of her Uncle Van, but tried to pay it no mind. He still listened intently to her every report. She was also starting to leave things out of those reports…..things that made her feel just a bit conflicted about her task, and then feel bad about hiding them from her uncle. Things like how the monsters, despite their appearances, were not so different from humans. Many shared the same thoughts, feelings, dreams, and fears. Or like how a few treated her like a friend; such as Frankie and her group. It was a lot like when they worked together that last Halloween, except now they didn't know that DeMona DeVille was really Lilith Van Hellscream. A few of them had even given her Crypt-mas gifts just before break started. But it was also true that there were special classes for the ghosts and magick-users to help them get more powerful, and there were still monsters like Moanica who were dangerous!

Moanica was basking. She had recuited several more zombies from school, turned more high school and college normies, and raised several more from the grave. Her power was growing in leaps and bounds! But she had to be careful. A few of her 'peers' had begun to notice her entourage growing too quickly, so she decided only to take those that were now known at school, and set the rest to work on her master plan. When school starts again after the holiday break ends, she will see if she is powerful enough to bring Ghoulia under her control again!

xxXXxx

The first day back, the guys and ghouls were gathered around the fountain before class, catching each other up on everything that happened over the holiday break. Moanica arrived with her crew of zombies, which now included almost all of the school's zombies as well as the new ones she was mysteriously able to acquire. Ghoulia again huddled closer to Slo-Mo for protection.

"She's up to something", Frankie said. "I can feel it in my bolts."

"I guess that's our cue", Twyla said, taking Raythe's arm in hers.

"Back on zombie-watch", he smirked.

"Are you two sure you still want to do this?", Clawdeen asked.

"It's no problem", Raythe said.

"We're least likely to be noticed", Twyla agreed.

The first bell rang at that moment, and everyone started walking inside.

"Ok, but be careful, you two", Duncan cautioned.

xxXXxx

Moanica was finally able to ditch the dark elf and shadow ghoul, but she had to send her zomboys on fools errands to do it. For all she knew they had been watching her since the day she arrived! She was lucky she noticed them today, considering what she had planned today.

There she is! Ghoulia is with her lummox of a boyfriend, but the hallway was otherwise empty.

"Hello, Ghoulia", Moanica drolled.

"Ah!", Ghoulia jumped back in fear, and Slo-Mo stepped protectively in front of her.

"Easy there, big boy", Moanica smirked, placing a finger against his chest, her sharp fingernail poking through his shirt and into his skin. The eerie glow of her eyes brightened for a moment, and his eyes glazed over. "Step aside. I just need a moment with Ghoulia." Slo-Mo stepped aside obediently, much to the despair of Ghoulia.

"Ghoulia, mi amor", Moanica cooed. "You have been a very bad ghoul. Tricking me into that mine shaft and leaving me there all alone? And then running away? But I can forgive you(she began to press her will into Ghoulia, her nails lightly piercing the skin of her shoulder). Just come back to me….you can even keep your play-thing here", she indicated the now obedient Slo-Mo.

"Uh-uh!", Ghoulia grunted, fearful but defiant. She could feel Moanica pressing her, trying to regain control.

"Come now, Ghoulia", Moanica said smoothly, increasing the pressure of her will. "Surely things were not all that bad between us? Together, we could rule a kingdom of the dead! We will be so scarifyingly unstoppable that the normies will **never** **_dare_** rise up against monsters ever again! But I can't do it alone, without your smarts….and my heart **_aches_** for you, mi amor."

"Uh-uh! Aieeeuhah!"

"Gah! You **still** defy me?!", Moanica hissed. "I don't know how you are doing this, but you **will** be mine again regardless! If you do not submit to me and help me in every way I demand, you will **never** see your precious boyfriend again(she caresses Slo-Mo's body suggestively). Not only that, but I noticed the normie with all the metal among your friends, and a few others who are half-normie. And aren't Frankie and Jinafire's boyfriends normies? They will **_all_** join my army if you continue to defy me!"

"Auuhuh", Ghoulia moaned in defeat. She could not let her friends suffer her fate, nor could she bear to lose Slo-Mo to this demon from her past.

"Muy excellente!", Moanica smirked viciously. "Come with me now, we have much work to do!" Moanica laughed evilly as she led Ghoulia and Slo-Mo out and away from the school.

xxXXxx

"I'm glad your mom doesn't hate me, Venus", Joe said, having met the maternal plant monster not long after they sent Ozborn packing. "Not that I could blame her if she did."

"Well, **_me_** forgiving and still loving you went a long way in that", she smirked. "Hearing your story just sealed the deal."

"Babe, you're the best", Joe smiled, then kissed Venus deeply. The other couples smiled knowingly. They had gathered at their usual tables for lunch. The only ones absent were Ghoulia & Slo-Mo and Twyla & Raythe. They were all eating and talking pleasantly when Raythe came running into the creepateria and skidded to a halt at their tables. As he caught his breath, Twyla materialized out of his shadow.

"We lost track of Moanica!", Twyla said.

"What?! How?", Cleo sniped as everyone looked alarmed.

"She sent groups of zombies out to do things; forcing us to split up", Raythe said. "Turns out they were just a distraction! Moanica is gone, and now we can't find Ghoulia or Slo-Mo anywhere!"

"Dammit!", Duncan growled. "Cleo, you better go to the Headmistress, tell her everything you know and what we suspect. Clawdeen, Clawd, and Howleen? Mobilize the werewolves and other trackers. I'll check with all the flyers in school. Dani? You got the ghosts. Let's move!"

Duncan went outside and extended his wings. He headed for the roof of the school, as many of the flyers often took their lunches up there. Sure enough, Batsy Claro, a few harpies, and a griffin were there. After filling them in he asked if they had seen anything from the air since that morning. Nothing. He went back inside to look for more winged monsters.

Lilith was at her locker when she noticed all the unusual activity for this time of day.

"DeMona!"

She turned to see Duncan approaching her. When she first met him, she'd assumed he was a dragon like Jinafire. She had since learned that he was the half-human son of Belloc; King of the kaijus! How that was even possible was beyond her, but there he was. She wasn't sure how to report this to her uncle, as kaijus were the one monster race that he did not have knowledge of any weaknesses to exploit.

"What's up, Duncan?", she asked.

"Were you flying around outside at all this morning?", he asked urgently.

"Some. Why do you ask?"

"Because Ghoulia and Slo-Mo are missing", he replied, then scowled. "We think Moanica D'Kay took them."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because they have…..history", Duncan growled. "Moanica is obsessed with Ghoulia, and Ghoulia is terrified of her. Moanica is the one who turned Ghoulia and her family into zombies in the first place."

Lilith gasped at this. Proof of what her uncle told her. And anything that a dangerous ghoul like Moanica would want with someone as smart as Ghoulia could not be good!

"Well, I was kinda far away, but I think I saw Slo-Mo's car leave the student lot about forty minutes before lunch. Where it went I have no idea."

"Dammit! Thanks, DeMona. At least now we have a time-frame."

xxXXxx

Moanica took Ghoulia and Slo-Mo to a power station near the dividing line of the town. The monster side got 90% of its' electricity from off-the-grid sources; primarily to prevent the normies from deliberately shutting them down. So this station handled the full load of the normie side of town and was obviously designed to be un-manned. Ghoulia saw many conduits, a couple of transformers, a large Tesla-coil, an out-dated master-switch panel, and an advanced capacitor that all seemed out of place.

"You're the smart one, Ghoulia", Moanica grinned. "Can you figure out what I want you to do?"

"Ahahuuuhoo?"

"*evil chuckle* Close, but not quite", she said. "You know as well as I do that there are too many safeguards to prevent an overload to the grid. No, what I want is for all that electricity(she gestured at the station as a whole) to go in **there** ", she grinned, pointing to the capacitor.

"Uh-uh! Aiehuhohuh!"

"Oh, I think it **will** work", Moanica smirked. "I stole that capacitor from the home of your friend Frankie. Just one of many spares they had laying around! If anything can handle the load, **it** can! It was built specifically to contain massive voltage by her parents. Your job, is to put all this together and make it work."

"Wha-huah?"

"Why? Total darkness of course!", Moanica laughed. "Normies are **afraid** of the dark. The Night of the Zomboys will show the normies just how terrifying we can be! And the few who might be brave enough to fight will join my zomboy army! Now, do as you're told and get to work or I go after your friends. Zomboys! Ghoulia will direct you in building the machine. And no more breaks! You can sleep when you're dead! Well….you know what I mean! Back to work!"

Ghoulia moaned in defeat as she set to work.

xxXXxx

Lilith had just told her uncle about Moanica and Ghoulia.

"And why is this so concerning?", he asked. "Just another zombie recruited by a queen."

"Uncle Van! Ghoulia Yelps is the smartest ghoul at Monster High", she said. "Who knows what Moanica could be forcing her to do?"

"Forcing?", Van Hellscream growled. "How do we know she's not helping her queen willingly? Are you sure you're not losing perspective, my dear Lilith? They are **all** monsters!"

"Yes, you're right, Uncle", she said, sufficiently cowed.

"Still", he said more calmly. "It is possible that Moanica is becoming a problem we can't ignore."

"So what are we going to do?", she asked.

"We will continue to wait and see for now", he said. "It is possible that whatever she has planned will help turn more of the public against the monsters. However, it might become necessary to destroy her lest she overrun us. I will ensure our agents are ready to move at a moments notice."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: I have stated before that I'm not a fan of the Monster High reboot movies. IMHO the animation was way better before, and wiping out so much canon was a mistake. That being said, some of the new characters and the Moanica plots are pretty good, and should've been just added to the canon. So, yes, I am doing my own take on "Electrified" for my Moanica arc. I hope you all will enjoy it!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	51. Chapter 50

**_Hey, Everyone! Silvi Timberwolf is from the latest Monster High movie "Electrified". The wereboar, Tusk McBoar, is my OC. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 50

Silvi Timberwolf was a new transfer student this year and really wanted to make a good impression. Granted, she had her BFF Lorna McNessie whom she had known since they were 'wee lasses' in Rottland. But the one she really wanted to impress was Clawdeen Wolf; not only was she one of the most popular ghouls in school, but she was also the Alpha!

So when Clawdeen and her siblings organized all the school's werewolves, werecats, and other scent trackers to track down Moanica D'Kay and her Zomboys; Silvi was especially eager to succeed! As they all split up after school, most followed the main trails away from the school. Silvi, however, found a trail of zombie scent leading away from the li-scary in a different direction from the others.

"Did y'all find somethin'?", a voice said behind her, causing her to jump and yelp in surprise. She turned, growling slightly to see a somewhat husky boy wearing boots, jeans, t-shirt, and a jean jacket wearing a cowboy hat on top of his tusked, pig-like head of brown hair.

"You ought to know better than to sneak up on a werewolf!", she growled at the wereboar.

"Sorry, li'l lady. Didn't mean ta startle ya", he said politely, tipping the brim of his hat. "Tusk is the name; Tusk 'Hog-Tie' McBoar."

"Silvi Timberwolf", she introduced herself, somewhat mollified by his manners. "I found this zombie scent trail. It started in the li-scary. I heard that Moanica and her zomboys were spending a lot of time there lately."

"Thinkin' outside the box", Tusk grinned. "I like that! Ya know, all the other trackers are in pairs or groups, so maybe we should stick together?"

"I don't know", she said, unsure. "How are your tracking skills?"

He snort-sniffed the air a few times and grinned at her.

"Y'all had a mutton on rye fer lunch and haggis with eggs for breakfast."

"Ok!", she smiled, impressed. "I guess you're with me! Let's see where this trail leads."

They followed the scent trail down some back-roads and through clumps of forest, both following their noses. Then the trail split.

"So what now?", Tusk asked.

"You go that way and I'll take this trail", Silvi said. "We meet back with the others later."

"Ok, whatever slurps your slop", Tusk quipped as he took the righthand trail.

Silvi giggled at his comment; gross as it was, it was oddly endearing, too. The wereboar was a nice enough lad. He was a good tracker and pleasant company; if only her gut instincts would stop telling her to **eat** him!

While Tusk followed the trail diligently, his thoughts kept drifting to Silvi. She was cute….for a wolf. And she hadn't tried to eat him, although he had no doubt she probably saw him as a walking luau. Still, she was cute and her accent was charming…Stop that!

xxXXxx

Silvi followed the trail all the way to the power station.

'That's odd', she thought to herself. 'What would zombies want here?'

She snuck in quietly and saw them assembling some kind of machine. She saw Moanica barking orders to her zomboys…..and Ghoulia sitting at a table working what looked like diagrams! She looked up and reached out to Slo-Mo as he walked by carrying a large coil of cable, and tears rolled down her cheeks seeing the glazed look in his eyes.

'Poor lass! I don't know what Moanica is forcing her to do, but maybe Frankie, DJ, or Robecca can figure it out', she thought as she took out her iCoffin and began snapping pictures of everything. She needed to hurry, as the machine looked close to finished. Silvi quietly backed out of the station…..only to hear soft groaning behind her. She whirled just in time for four zomboys to grab and overpower her!

"Let go of me ya graveyard rejects!", she snarled as she was dragged back inside.

"Well, what do we have here?", Moanica sneered. "An interloping spy!"

"I don't know what you're up to, Moanica", Silvi growled. "But you won't get away with it!"

"Be a good doggie, and quit yapping!", the zombie queen hissed, then pointed to a nearby chain-link cage that had originally held all the tools the zomboys were now using. "Lock her in there! Ghoulia, mi amor, is it finished?"

"Ahuuuaah aieeuh."

"You heard her", she said to a zomboy holding a thick, heavy-plugged cable. "Plug that into the control panel!"

After a few tries, he finally jammed it into place….a received a jolt the sent him skidding across the floor on his back. Several nearby zomboys raised their hands in a groaning cheer as if for a 'touchdown'. Moanica inspected the connection then turned to the floored zomboy.

"Is it finished? Can we get it started?"

The zomboy gave a shaky thumbs-up.

"*psst!* Ghoulia", Silvi whispered to get her attention. "Why are you helping her?"

"Uuuuhuuuh aaahaauuuh."

"Why that vicious little undead skank! Threatening your friends and boyfriend like that!", she growled. "What is she trying to do?"

Ghoulia responded with a series of grunts and moans.

"That's terrible! But you're sure it won't work?"

"THIS IS THE NIGHT OF THE ZOMBOYS!", Moanica yelled as she threw the master switch. The entire station surged with electricity, as the Tesla-coil pulled tens of thousands of volts from the grid and directed it into the capacitor beneath it. Moanica laughed as it surged…until it exploded with static, the capacitor half melted into slag. Moanica skidded to a halt near Ghoulia and Silvi, her hair still on-end from the massive zap she took.

"Impressive….fail", Silvi smirked.

Moanica cursed under her breath as she got up and attempted to tame down her hair, and walked over to the half-melted remains of the capacitor. Then she rounded on Ghoulia.

"What. Was, That?!", she hissed. "I thought you knew what you were doing, Ghoulia?!"

The smart zombie grunted and moaned in protest, reminding Moanica of what she'd said at the beginning; that it was too much power for even that capacitor.

"Well then we'll go back to the Stein's equipment storage and take as many as we need! Zomboys! You five, come with me! Slo-Mo, you come, too!" She then turned to Ghoulia and leaned in close.

"If you're not here when I get back, mi amor", Moanica smirked, and looked at Slo-Mo, "I'll order him to destroy himself. So be a good little ghoul and wait here with the others, por favor?"

Ghoulia buried her face in her hands and sobbed bitterly as Moanica left with Slo-Mo and her chosen five zomboys.

xxXXxx

The sky was clouding over as Tusk stepped out of the woods. He wasn't surprised, the weatherman had predicted a passing thunder-shower at around sunset tonight. What did surprise him was **where** he was: outside the Stein's clinic! The scent trail led toward the side of the manor where the lightning-rod tower and equipment were. It led right up to the door of a large shed, with a broken lock on the door.

"Hi! What are you doing out here?"

Tusk turned and saw Frankie coming toward him with Kenny by her side.

"Howdy! Sorry ta make such a fuss, but I followed a zombie scent trail here", he explained.

"Really?", Frankie asked, curious. She, like all of her ghoulfriends, was worried about Ghoulia and what Moanica might be doing to her.

"That's weird", Kenny added.

"Oh, it gets weirder", Tusk said. "Take a gander at yer lock here."

They looked and saw the lock was broken, and Frankie began to look worried.

"What do y'all keep in there?", Tusk asked as it started to rain.

"Spare parts and electrical equipment", she answered as she went inside. She had inventoried the contents last month, and did a quick but detailed count of everything. What she discovered had her puzzled.

"There's a high-density capacitor missing", she said when she came out. " As well as a few coils of cable, a Tesla-coil, and an old switch-panel. I better tell my parents."

"But what would zombies want with some of your dad's high-voltage equipment?", Kenny asked as all three were walking toward the other side of the manor, where the clinic was. Lightning began to flash through the sky. What they didn't know was that Moanica and her crew had arrived and were watching from just inside the woods where Tusk had come out earlier.

"We better get inside…fast!", Frankie said as they began to run. Then Kenny tripped, just a huge bolt of lightning struck the tower, throwing off powerful sparks of electricity as the bolt exceeded the tolerance of the tower! Frankie threw herself over Kenny, and the excess voltage went right to her bolts and into her!

The storm began to clear as they stood up. Kenny looked at his ghoulfriend with concern.

"A-are you alright?", he asked her.

"Sure! A little lightning never hurt anyone….well, not a Stein, anyway."

"Are you kiddin' me, ghoul?!", Tusk declared, very impressed. "I bet that bolt woulda lit up the whole city of Lost Plague-as!"

"Zomboys, I think we just found 'plan B'!", Moanica laughed maliciously. "Quick! Knock out the little piggy while I grab the normie!"

They moved quickly, for zombies. Tusk held them off….for about five seconds until Slo-Mo punched him out. Far faster and more agile than the rest, Moanica grabbed Kenny from behind and held her sharp nails to his throat.

"Let me go, you undead skank!", Kenny said through grit teeth.

Frankie growled and sparked up her hands.

"Ah-ah-ah…Frankie", Moanica sneered, fluttering her sharp-nailed fingers suggestively at Kenny's throat. "Turn off the sparks. You two are coming with us. Unless, of course, you **want** your normie boyfriend here to join my zomboy army?"

Frankie glared at the zombie queen, then sighed in defeat.

"What do you want with us?" Frankie asked venomously. "And why did you steal so much equipment from my dad?"

"You'll see soon enough", she smirked. "Now, if you please, vamonos, por favor?"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Moanica always struck me as the kind of villain who wouldn't hesitate to threaten somebody's loved ones to get her way. Things are really heating….er, amping up here! Next chapter is gonna be wild! Plus, the major secret of one character will be exposed to the** ** _last_** **person they would want!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	52. Chapter 51: Night of the Zomboys

**_Hey, Everyone! A lot of fun and a few secrets this chapter! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 51: Night of the Zomboys

When they arrived at the power station, Frankie saw all of the stolen equipment hooked up into a machine connected to the station's transformers. She also saw the half-melted capacitor as Zomboys carefully moved it aside. She walked over to get a better look at the Tesla-coil overhead.

"So, what do you think?", Moanica smirked, "Frankie?"

"I think you ruined one of my dad's best capacitors!"

"Oh, I'm about to ruin much more than that", Moanica giggled maliciously, handing Kenny over to two zomboys to restrain. She began to walk casually toward the master switch. "It's time for the Night of the Zomboys!(the many zomboys she created began to cheer) Time for the normies to be **afraid** ….and they **_will_** be….when I shut off **all** the lights!"

"There are billions of watts of energy in that powergrid", Frankie smirked. "Obviously there's no way even one of my dad's capacitors could store that much electricity."

Ghoulia suddenly realized what Moanica was doing, but the zomboy holding her covered her mouth.

"Ha! Yeah, I kinda already figured that out, thanks", Moanica smiled as she reached the master switch. " **But** , that got me thinking; where on Earth would I find something…..or some ** _one_** …..that **is** capable of absorbing that much electricity? Hmmm?"

Frankie's eyes widened with realization, and Kenny struggled against his captors as he reached the same conclusion.

"You need **_me_** to the make your machine work!"

"Yup!", Moanica smirked as she threw the master switch. The machine surged with power…all of it flowing from the Tesla-coil and into Frankie's bolts. She groaned as she was frozen in place by the sheer voltage pouring into her, and her eyes began to glow white.

"No! Frankie!", Kenny screamed with concern for his ghoulfriend, straining against the zomboys holding him.

xxXXxx

Chad and Claire were home with their families. They had finished their dinners, and Claire was working on her magick homework while Chad played a video game at his house a few doors down. Then the power started flickering off, on, off, on, dim, on, then off and stayed off.

"What the…? Is there a blackout?", Claire asked herself out loud.

"NOOOO! My high score!", Chad griped. He checked with his parents, who had no clue, then went outside. He saw Claire come out of her house as well.

"Hey, Claire", he called out. "I think it's the whole block."

"No", she disagreed, sensing confusion all over the human side of New Salem. "I think the whole town is blacking out."

xxXXxx

Frankie's mint-green skin had begun to glow with all the energy she was absorbing. She slowly levitated off the floor as Moanica laughed maliciously. Kenny finally pulled free of the zomboys holding him and ran up to his ghoulfriend.

"FRANKIE!", he yelled.

"She can't hear you!", Moanica laughed.

Kenny watched helplessly, as dozens of nuts, bolts, and other small fragments of metal lifted off the floor and began to swirl around the levitating Frankie like electrons around an atom. A few minutes later, the machine powered down as it sucked the last of the power from the grid. Then the small pieces of metal fell to the floor first while Frankie slowly drifted down. When she touched the ground her legs slid out from under her until she was sitting on her knees; her skin still glowing and her eyes blank, brightly lit white orbs.

Ghoulia ran over as Kenny tried to touch Frankie…..only to be zapped painfully away. Moanica laughed with gleeful malice. Ghoulia helped him up as he glared at Moanica with pure hatred.

"Why you vicious little….BITCH! AGH!", he snarled as he charged at her. Two of her zomboys stopped him just before he reached her.

"Such passion and strength", Moanica smirked, lifting her sharp nails. "You'll make an excellent addition to my army."

"Uh-uh! Aaieeeah-gah!", Ghoulia groaned in protest.

"Well….I lied", Moanica grinned as she jabbed her nails into Kenny's neck. But instead of feeling his life-force enter her as her curse replaced it….she felt burning pain!

"AGH!", she screamed in painful dismay, pulling away from him. "You're not a monster! How can you resist my power? And why is it so painful?"

Kenny was puzzled until a possible answer made him smirk.

"A few months ago, I was almost turned into a vampire", he told her with a grin. "I was cured by the Steins and Boodika La Fey. I guess maybe that cure is still protecting me."

"Ugh! Whatever", she scoffed, turning to her zomboys. "Rally all my subjects…..We march on the normies! Come along, mi amor."

"Uh-uh!" Ghoulia grunted defiantly, tears in her eyes for her friend.

"Fine! I'll be back for you", Moanica sneered, then looked at the zomboys holding her and Kenny. "Lock them in with the she-wolf."

xxXXxx

Duncan and the others were still spread across the monster side of town searching. He met back up with Clawdeen and their main group of friends and no one had found anything. They were about to split up again when Clawdeen's iCoffin rang. She recognized Claire's number when she answered.

"Hey, Claire. This really isn't a good time. What's up?"

"Hey, Clawdeen", the young witch said. "Sorry about that, but the normie side of town is blacked out."

"What? Hold on, let me put you on speaker", the Alpha said, and tapped her phone. "Say that again."

"The normie side of town is blacked out…..all of it."

"That can't be a coincidence", Duncan growled. Just then Clawdeen's phone beeped an alert to another incoming call. "Claire, you and Chad rally everyone you can and keep an eye out. Call the cops, too."

"I'm on it", she replied as she hung up. Clawdeen then clicked in the other call.

"Yeah, who is this?", she asked.

"Yeah, this is Tusk McBoar, Alpha Clawdeen", the wereboar said. "Me an' Silvi Timberwolf followed a trail from the li-scary that split a couple miles away. We split up to follow both trails. I ended up at the Steins' mansion. Me, Frankie, an' her normie boyfriend discovered a whole heap a' electrical stuff was stolen. Then we were jumped by Moanica and her zombies. I was knocked out. When I woke up, they were all gone. I'm followin' the trail now, it's headin' back to where me an' Silvi split up."

"So that's what she was up to!", Duncan snarled.

" **And** why she needed Ghoulia!", Clawdeen growled. "Good job, Tusk! We're on our way to help you now! Howleen, rally everyone else and head to the normie side of town! Our friends will need help…the cops too, whether they want it or not."

"You got it, Sis!"

xxXXxx

"What the hell is going on?", Van Hellscream demanded. His mansion and the entire neighborhood was blacked out. His men were reporting that the entire powergrid was down. Then his phone rang….Lilith's number.

"Lilith, do you know what's happening?"

"Yes, Uncle Van!", she said breathlessly, as she was flying. "It's been confirmed that Moanica D'Kay took down the powergrid! My guess is that she and her zombies are moving on the humans!"

"Excellent!", he grinned.

" **WHAT?!** ", Lilith was incredulous. A zombie apocalypse was a worst-case scenario to her mind!

"We can use this to our advantage", he said. "We will wait, let the panic spread. Then when all hope is lost….my agents will mobilize and quell this attack!"

"But what about the people who get hurt?!", Lilith argued. "Or worse; **turned** by that undead witch?!"

"Collateral damage for the greater good!", he hissed. "Do not question me, young lady! Just do as you're told! Now, keep watch from above and report to me regularly."

"Yes, Uncle", she sighed, hanging up. She was going to do more than just watch! She was going to help anyone she saw in danger, and if her uncle didn't like it, then just too damn bad!

xxXXxx

Many people had stepped out of their homes and into the streets of their neighborhoods, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Hey, who's that?", one man asked, bringing the attention of everyone nearby to a white haired girl strutting toward them at the head of a rather large group of people who were grunting and groaning quite a bit for no obvious reason….and were their eyes glowing orange?

The white haired girl stopped several yards away from the people. She looked up with a smirk, her eyes glowing an unnerving spectral blue!

 ** _"BOO!",_** she yelled. Several people screamed in fear.

"Zombies!"

"What's happening?!"

"Oh no!"

"Are you scared?", Moanica jeered. "Well, you **should** be! Because monsters and zombies are **real!** And tonight, under cover of perpetual darkness, me and my zomboys are coming into your world! And we're going to do terrible, scarible things! That's right! We're going to trash your neighborhoods! We're going to eat your pets! We're going to chase you down and do terrible things to you! And I'm going to turn some of you into zombies to join my zomboy army! Raauugh!"

The zomboys lurched toward the humans, who ran away screaming in fear while Moanica laughed maliciously.

"That's right, **run**! Because this is the **Night of the Zomboys!** "

xxXXxx

When the guys and ghouls got to the powerstation, the first thing they found when they entered was the tool-cage holding their friends.

"Kenny!"

"Duncan! Am I glad to see you!", Kenny said as his foster brother ripped of the cage door. He immediately ran out, followed quickly by Ghoulia and Silvi.

"I'm sorry, Alpha", the Silvi said. "I found them, but I got caught. If I'd gotten away to tell you all, none of this would've happened!"

"Don't blame yourself, Silvi", Clawdeen reassured her. "You did your best."

"Everyone!", Kenny called despairingly. "It's Frankie."

"What?", Cleo gasped, concerned.

"Frankie?!", Draculaura cried as they all converged around their friend.

"Frankie!", Clawdeen breathed. "What happened?"

"It was Moanica!", Kenny cried, tears in his eyes. "She used Frankie for her plan!"

"So much electricity", Frankie droned hollowly, practically unaware of her friends' presence.

"She's in, well, shock", Duncan said.

Ghoulia moaned in despair.

"It's not your fault, Ghoulia", Kenny said. "Moanica forced you to help her."

"We have to get all that electricity out of her", Draculaura said.

"Can't we just…..put it back in the grid?", Cleo asked.

"No", Duncan said from above, as he inspected the machine. "The machine was burned out pulling it all from the grid."

"Ah!", Ghoulia grunted, getting an idea. She ran over to the half-melted capacitor. Duncan, Kenny, DJ, and Robecca all joined her.

"This looks pretty useless, Ghoulia", Kenny said. Ghoulia then explained her idea in a series of moans and groans.

"That just might work", Duncan said, moving the capacitor over near Frankie.

"What's the score, Duncan?", Joe asked.

"You are gonna turn into rubber and connect Frankie to this thing", Duncan replied.

"How's that gonna help?", he asked as he reached into the required pouch, and turned into rubber. "It can't possibly take that kind of voltage."

"True", Kenny said. "But if we have Abby freeze it to super-cold…."

"It might pull just enough out of Frankie to wake her up!", Robecca finished.

"Let us do this!", huffed Abby, as she froze the capacitor.

Joe then connected two cables to the positive and negative leads. He then connected the opposite ends to Frankie's hands.

The effect was instant! Power flowed from Frankie into the damaged capacitor. Frankie blinked her glowing, white eyes, and the glow of her skin dimmed slightly as she stood up. After a few moments more, she smiled and her eyes returned to normal. The cables shorted off her hands when the capacitor reached it's limit.

"*whew!*", she sighed.

"Frankie!", the ghouls all gushed.

"All right! Welcome back, ghoul!", Clawdeen smiled.

"Frankie! You're back!", Kenny gushed, rushing to hug her.

"Whoa, Kenny!", Frankie warned, holding up her hands and stepping back. "It's still not safe to touch me! I've got way too much juice. I don't want to fry you like a strip of bacon."

Tusk snorted at that comment.

"Sorry!", she said sheepishly. "No offence?"

"Forget it", the wereboar shrugged. "I hear them kinda comments all the time."

"I think we better get moving", Joe said as he returned to normal.

"You're right, Joe", Duncan said. "With Moanica and the Zomboys out scaring all the normies, there's no way they'll ever trust us. Unless we **do** something!"

"Moanica must have a hundred Zomboys out scaring the normies, mates", Lagoona said. "Plus all the zombies from school she controls now! It'd take an army to stop them!"

"Howleen is rallying everyone she can", Clawdeen said.

"Mom, helped me do some research", Kenny said. "If we destroy enough of the Zomboys she created herself, her power will weaken, maybe even enough to free the zombies from your school!"

"So any zombie we don't know is fair game", Duncan grinned. "And if I get a clear shot, I'm gonna **incinerate** that skank."

"And for those of us not familiar with the zombies from your school?", Kenny asked.

"Only kill zombies with glowing, orange eyes", Clawdeen said.

"What are their weaknesses?", DJ asked.

"Fire, decapitation, a hard enough shot to the head", Duncan counted them off. "Any other weaknesses, Ghoulia?"

Ghoulia named off one more, and it made Joe grin wickedly.

"Spectra, spread the word to everyone coming to help", Duncan told the ghost. "It's time to **end** this."

"Understood!", she replied as she prepared the mass-text.

xxXXxx

Chaos reigned on the normie side of New Salem! Most of the people shut and locked themselves inside their homes in the hopes of staying safe. Detective Murphy and the rest of the police department did their best, but they were simply overwhelmed. They were forced to concentrate on helping the citizens who were stuck outdoors away from their homes.

Moanica laughed as her zomboys vandalized the normie neighborhoods; smashing mailboxes, knocking over trash-cans, spreading garbage and junk everywhere, smashing and even jumping up and down on cars as their alarms blared. Several normies caught outside were beaten, and a few who tried to fight back were brought to Moanica. She laughed gleefully as she turned them.

"It's…*sigh*…it's beautiful", she smirked, looking at all the destruction and the normies cowering in their homes. "I'm so proud of my zomboys."

Not far away, Chad and Claire were holding their own; between her magick and his martial arts. But even they were slowly being cornered.

"Chad, cover your eyes!", she called, and he did as she said. _"Lumos Solam!"_

An intensely bright light flashed from her hands, blinding the zomboys around them. As they staggered around, Claire saw a chance to escape.

 _"Incendio Brazinga!"_ , she called out, setting the seat of one zomboy's pants on fire! As he ran around trying to put it out, Claire and Chad dashed through the opening she'd made.

"What's this?", Moanica hissed. "A little witch among the normies?"

"That's right", Claire said in a defiant tone. "So you better back off, or I'll turn you into a…uh…a rat! That's right, a rat!"

"Don't play games with me, newbie", Moanica smirked. "I recognize you from school now. You don't have that kind of power. If you did, you would have done it already."

Claire slumped slightly. The undead bitch had called her bluff, and she and her zomboys were closing on her and Chad.

"Look at your normie friend, so bravely standing by your side. I think I'll make him join my army", the zombie queen sneered. Then Moanica looked puzzled at a strange light far behind them. " **Qu'e?!** "

The light revealed itself to be a still glowing Frankie, walking front and center of her friends; Kenny, Duncan, Clawdeen, Clawd, Draculaura, Silvi, Tusk, DJ, Joe, Robecca, Ghoulia, Abby, Lagoona, and Cleo.

"Hey, Frankie. Think you can turn the glow down a bit?", Moanica said in an almost casual tone. "It's kinda messing up the whole 'dark and scary' mood we've got going here."

"Moanica, stop!", Frankie said firmly.

"We're not going to stand by and let you do this", Lagoona said.

"And you think the fourteen of you are going to stop all this?", Moanica smirked. "All right, seventeen if you count the normies."

"Who ever said we were normies?", DJ smirked as he re-routed more power to his implants, causing them to spark like a stun-gun.

"What he said", Joe grinned, as he reached into a pouch on his belt. His flesh morphed into a white, semi-crystaline form and he reshaped his right hand into a long blade. "And in case you're wondering, I just turned into **salt**."

"*irritated grunt* All right, now either help us teach these normies a lesson, or get out of the way", Moanica grinned. "Because **nothing** stops the Night of the Zomboys!"

"Wanna bet?", Duncan smirked…..then unleashed a jet of fire! Moanica shrieked and ducked, and Duncan's attack instead incinerated the zomboy behind her!

"Gah! I don't care what powers you all have!", Moanica hissed. "There's less than twenty of you! I have an ARMY!"

"Mmmmhhfff! So do they", Manny Taur said as he appeared from over the hill, followed by the bulk of the Monster High student body.

Moanica's left eye twitched with rage!

"Rrrrrraaaaugh! Get them!", she commanded, and the two sides charged each other. Chaos ensued as they began to grapple and brawl. However, the monsters had a plan. The zombies they all knew from school were being methodically subdued and contained safely by those like Abby and Cleo, who had the means. Even Tusk and Chase helped in that regard with their lassoes.

Draculaura and her fellow vampires, along with Batsy Claro and Operetta hit the Zomboys with sonics. DJ and Frankie blasted them with bolts of electricity, although DJ was limited to doing so by touch.

"That's for making me a part of your evil science project!", she exclaimed after zapping several at once.

One Zomboy tried to hide between two houses, only for Twyla to materialize out of a shadow behind him.

"BOO!", she laughed, causing him to crash first into one wall then the other in fright.

Another charged at Spectra, but passed through her intangible body and slammed into a light-pole.

Meanwhile, Joe shifted his other hand into a salt blade as well and he went to town; impaling Zomboys left and right, turning them to dust. Ghoulia wasn't kidding! They were super-vulnerable to salt!

Duncan reduced a Zomboy to ash with every breath, while the werewolves and Manny were decapitating them with claws and sheer muscle. Jinafire was doing a deadly dance of fire and kung fu, taking out zomboys easily.

In another neighborhood not too far away, Van Hellscream and his agents were out in force wearing their new Nth metal armor & helmets and armed with machetes and pump-shotguns loaded with rock-salt rounds. Van Hellscream was also wearing the Gauntlets of Hercules and carrying the Sword of Perseus! They were destroying every zombie in sight.

Several more zomboys appeared from around the corner, being chased by Deuce Gorgon. He turned them to stone when they looked back at him.

'No!', Van Hellscream thought. 'We can't let monsters be seen stopping this! It could negate the impact of this attack on humans!'

Deuce looked around and saw Hellscream's agents, but did not know who they were. He just thought they were normies fighting back.

"Good job, dudes!", he called out. "My friends and I are here to help stop theses guys!"

Deuce then turned to take on more zomboys, not noticing Van Hellscream lowering the mirrored visor of his helmet as he came up behind the gorgon. He kicked Deuce, knocking him down, then decapitated the three zomboys with a single swipe of the sword. Deuce was about to thank him, when he saw the armored normie raise the sword again! Deuce may be a cool and laid back kind of monster, but he was no fool. He raised his shades to stone the creep….only to see the beam richochet off his visor!

"That won't work on me, you filthy monster!", Van Hellscream laughed. "Now die like your ancestor!"

Deuce held up his hands in defence as the sword came down….and stopped of it's own accord!

"What?!", Van Hellscream yelled in dismay as he swung the blade in another deadly arc. Again, it stopped, and this time it began to glow with golden light! It wrenched itself from his grasp and twirled slowly in the air as Deuce stood up. Everyone present was mesmerized. Deuce marveled at the beauty of the weapon; silvery, 3-inch wide blade as long as his arm, one-handed black grip, gold pommel and hilt with a 'C' shaped cross-guard set with seven diamonds. It stopped twirling and seemed to present itself to Deuce! He took hold of it, and the grip fit his hand perfectly. He swung it a few times, and it felt perfectly balanced; as easy to wield as a feather-wand. It was as if the sword had been made specifically for **him!** But that was impossible! It was ancient!

"Sir!", an agent addressed the leader. "More zombies downtown!"

"Let's move!", he said, then turned to the gorgon. "We'll meet again, monster!"

xxXXxx

On a side-street near the main battle, Lilith was flying overhead. Her frien….classmates had things mostly in hand. Then she saw a normie boy trying to hold off four zomboys with his bare hands. She swooped in and kicked the lead zomboy in the head as she landed. She hissed as she used her fighting skills and machete to fight them off, destroying two before the others ran away toward the main battle.

"That's right! Run you undead punks!", she laughed.

"Lilith? Is that you?"

Lilith gasped as she turned to see that the one she saved was Jason, the boy she loved.

"Jason? Don't look at me! I'm hideous!", she cried as she took to the air, tears in her eyes. "I never wanted you to see me like this!"

"Wait! Lilith, come back!", he called after her, but she was gone.

xxXXxx

Moanica was furious. This fight was not going well! Then she felt it…..her power weakening. She suddenly realized what was going on! They were only destroying the Zomboys she created herself, as they not only required more power to create, but also more strongly increased her power and influence over the others! They were merely capturing and holding the zombies they knew from school before her arrival! If this kept up, she would be alone and virtually powerless!

"Let's shed some light here!", Frankie exclaimed. She had found the neighborhood junction box. She began to pump all the power she had from the grid into it, slowly so as not to overload it. From there, it began to spread back to the rest of the grid, and the lights began to come back on all over the normie side of town. Normies began to look outside and see monsters and police fighting side-by-side against the zombies, as well as a battalion of armored individuals fighting zombies down-town.

Screaming in frustration as the lights came back on, Moanica sent a final wave of Zomboys at all the defenders; then hastily retreated with her inner-circle and any spare zomboys left. She looked briefly back at Ghoulia as she left.

"I will be back for you one day, mi amor….count on it!", she hissed to herself.

Great cheers went up all over town as the last of the fighting ended.

Ghoulia joyfully reunited with Slo-Mo when his eyes cleared of Moanica's influence. Duncan and many of the others disliked killing, but took some comfort in that the zomboys were essentially already dead and mere puppets. He saw Deuce and a few others arrive from surrounding neighborhoods.

"Yo, Deuce!", Duncan called out. "Where'd you get the shiny pig-sticker?"

Tusk snorted at that comment, and Duncan shrugged sheepishly.

"Some armored dude tried to kill me with it", Deuce answered, getting a gasp from Cleo. "But it was like the sword itself wouldn't let him. Then it jumped out of his hand and came to me. It was weird."

"Hey, kids", Detective Murphy called out. "Officially, I gotta ask you to go back to your side of town now."

This elicited many comments of frustration from the gathered monsters.

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down!", the Detective called out. "That's the **official** word. **_Un-officially_** , me and a lot a people here want to thank you for your help. We couldn't've done this without all a' you."

Detective Murphy held out his hand, and Duncan shook it on behalf of all his friends.

"Ok, everyone", Duncan said as he turned back to the others, wrapping an arm around Clawdeen. "You heard the man. Let's go home."

xxXXxx

Moanica was cursing in Spanish under her breath. She barely had more zomboys left now than she had first arrived with; including Mike and Tiffany. She would be back for Ghoulia and revenge! Once she had all the zombies of Graveyard Prep under her control, she would overwhelm Monster High with a bigger army than she ever had before!

"Conptemplating revenge already, little ghoul?", a gruff male voice sneered. "I can understand that desire, but patience can bring it about in ways that are all the sweeter."

"Qu'e?! Who's there?!", Moanica demanded.

A large black and silver werewolf stepped out of the shadows first, followed by a four-armed witch, a malevolent looking ghost, a yeti, and a vampire she recognized as Lord Stoker.

"I am Remus Darkclaw", the werewolf growled with a grin. "My associates and I have a proposition for you."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Yes, I made zombies vulnerable to salt. This is derived from some old zombie lore from waaaaaay back before zombies were turned into the modern viral plague they are most commonly used as now(I HATE that crap!). I also made them 'dust' when they are destroyed like the vampires from the "Buffy" tv series.**

 **The spells Claire used are again inspired by "Harry Potter", although the fire spell also used the word 'brazinga', which is from "Eragon".**

 **The Sword of Perseus. I used the version from the 1981 classic version of "Clash of the Titans"! IMHO, that film was the crowning achievement of the great 'stop-motion' monster master: Ray Harryhausen(may he RIP). His special effects wizardry inspired the geniuses of Industrial Light and Magic, making not only the visual effects of the original Star Wars trilogy possible, but also modern CGI! Anyway, why couldn't Van Hellscream kill Deuce with the sword? And why did the sword 'choose' Deuce? Wait and see!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames please. If I do not use a suggestion, it is likely that as good as it may be, I could not work it into my story in a way that I would like.**

 **xxXXxx**


	53. Chapter 52

**_Hey, Everyone! Some secrets are revealed and two old friends return this chapter! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 52

Deuce was still perplexed by what happened with the sword earlier as he arrived home. He had slid the sword down inside the back of his vest and hooked the cross-guard on the collar. He heard his mother call out as soon as he walked in.

"I ssssaved sssome dinner for you, Deuccccce. How did everything go?", she asked. All the parents had heard what was going on. Like the rest, Medusa was proud of her son for taking action. "Were you and your friendssss able to sssstop that zombie bitch?"

"Yeah, Mom", he said proudly, stepping into the living room to talk to her. "Moanica got away, but we stopped her. Something really strange happened, though."

"Really? What issss that?"

He took out the sword. Medusa gasped sharply and dropped her drink in shock. She slithered quickly to him and took the sword.

"Where did you get thissss sssword?!", she asked urgently. "Thisss isss one of the artifactssss sssstolen from your aunt'sss musssseum! The Sssssword of Perssssseusssss! A divine gift from hisss father Zeussss and forged by Hephaessstussss!"

"The Sword of Perseus?! Whoa!", Deuce was overwhelmed. "Some normie dude wearing armor tried to kill me with it tonight. But the sword, like, wouldn't let him."

"Tell me everything!", Medusa urged her son. He told her the whole story. A mixture of awe and realization was written on her face.

"Mom, you **know** something", he deduced. "How….Why did this happen? I **need** to know!"

Medusa sighed deeply. She had hoped to avoid this forever, but the truth could no longer be denied.

"My dear sssson. The ssssword could not harm you for the ssssame reasssson it presssented itsssself to you", she breathed. She handed the sword back to him, put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "It issss becaussse Perssseussss…..issss your **_father_**."

 ** _"SAY WHAT?!"_**

"You already know the legendssss, and our family'sssss part in them. But now I mussssst tell you the sssstory of what happened **after** ", she said, coiling into her favorite chair. He sat in another chair and listened with rapt attention.

She told the story of the many happy years Perseus lived and ruled a kingdom with his wife; Princess/Queen Andromeda and had many children. However, when Perseus died he ascended to Olympus, as did all demi-gods. Some, like Hercules, became gods themselves. Most, however, simply 'lived' there…..forever. His mortal-born wife and children went to the after-life, forever separated from him. In his despair, he returned to the mortal plane and wandered the Earth for millennia. Finally, he returned to the home of Medusa; on whom he had once taken pity and spared her life. She welcomed him kindly and offered him the hospitality of her home for as long as he needed. Over time, they fell in love.

Then Zeus decreed the time had come for the gods and demi-gods to stop meddling in the realms of mortals and commanded that all but a select few, like Eros, ascend to an even higher plane of existence. Perseus was forced to leave his new love, not realizing that the child he sired was growing in Medusa's womb.

"That'sssss why I could never tell you about your father", she said tearfully, concluding her story. "I loved him sssso much. Lossssing him becaussssse of a decree from your grandfather wassssss too painful for me to bear. Having **you** sssssaved me from dessssspair."

Medusa slithered over to her son, and cupped his cheek in her hand with a loving smile and tears in her eyes.

"You have my eyesssss and hair", she said. "But otherwissssse, you look jussssst like **him**. But to ever sssspeak of him wasssss too painful. Can you forgive me, my Sssson?"

It was a lot to take in. The story had moved the normally cool and laid-back young gorgon to tears. Deuce hugged his mother.

"I love you, Mom", he assured her. "Of course I forgive you."

xxXXxx

Lilith was crying her eyes out in the home of her cover identity. She already had over twenty 'missed calls' from Jason on her iCoffin. She just **knew** he was disgusted with her; not only with her demonic appearance, but also for lying to him. He was probably just calling to yell and break up with her, and she couldn't bear to hear it.

Suddenly a text-alert beeped. Lilith looked and saw it was from his number. A text might be easier to take. She took a breath to steel herself, and read the message.

 _'Lilith, plez, I kno this is weird. I just want 2 talk 2 u and I need 2 see u. plez tell me where u r?'_

Her heart clenched and uncertainty plagued her thoughts. Her uncle warned her sternly not to blow her cover. But Jason already knew now. But was seeing him worth the risk of angering her uncle or the possibility of a face to face rejection from the guy she loved? She made her choice.

 _'1313 Mockingbird Circle, on the monster side of town. Come alone & make sure ur not seen.'_

Twenty minutes later, she heard his backwards motor-trike pull in to the driveway. He was wearing his visored helmet to hide his face. She let him in when he knocked, and he removed his helmet once inside. Then he surprised her with a hug. She melted into his arms, her black leather halter-top allowing her to feel his hands on her bare back, making her tingle. Almost of it's own accord, her tail snaked around him, pulling him closer.

"I've missed you", he said, making her heart clench. "Please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"First, please swear that you'll keep all this secret?", she asked sheepishly. "And my uncle must **never** know I told you or that you found out about me?"

"I'd do anything for you, Lilith", he said. "You know that."

She sat down on the couch in mild relief, and he sat beside her; holding her hand tenderly. She told him everything; the Boogie Sand, her undercover mission as 'DeMona DeVille', her and her uncle's parts in the zombie invasion, everything. He listened to her every word.

"I'll keep your secret, Lilith", he said when she finished. "But I think your uncle is being a real jack-ass about this, no offense. I mean, I've met monsters who were like anybody else….or even cooler than some humans I know. And making you do this? Totally messed up."

"I know", she sniffed tearfully, spreading then folding the large bat-wings on her back. "I'm hideous! A disgusting monster!"

"Now you **stop** that right now!", he said firmly. "You're **beautiful** , Lilith! You're **always** beautiful to me."

"You're just saying that", she said with a coy smile.

"No….I'm not", Jason breathed warmly as he held her close. Then he tilted his head down and kissed her deeply, then again even more passionately. His every kiss, his every touch stoking the fire within her. She slid his jacket off his shoulders, then ripped his shirt off of him. She unzipped the front of her top as he untied it from behind her neck, allowing her barely contained, ample breasts to spill forth…..

xxXXxx

 **(Time-skip: Mid-term hex-ams have come and gone at Monster High, and the second semester has begun)**

The guys and ghouls were gathered at the fountain before class. It was the first day of the new semester. Jinx and many others in school were excited about the opening of the day-care center at school, and many students had younger siblings with them who were enrolled. A few teen mothers had even returned to school now that they could bring their infants with them! Students who had signed up for classes related the child-care were on a rotating schedule to assist the experienced care-givers….one of whom was a normie! Grateful for being saved by the MH students during Moanica's Night of the Zomboys, she was there with her own infant and toddler.

Duncan and Clawdeen had just arrived, sipping their lattes.

"So your sister really blew a gasket when she found out?", Robecca asked, giggling.

"Yes!", Cleo laughed. "Nefera ranted, raved, and screamed until Daddy sent her to her tomb! My Deuce; Son of a demi-god! I guess she'll **never** give me a hard time about you again, will she, Sweetie?"

"I guess not", the gorgon chuckled. "So I guess your dad likes me now?"

"I almost feel sorry for Nerfera", Clawdeen smirked. " **Almost**."

"She needs to seriously grow up and change", Duncan said. "Or she will **never** find real love and the happiness that comes with it."

"Speaking of love", Frankie smiled, pointing toward the school entrance.

Abby was approaching with a big smile holding hands with a grinning boy with spiky, red hair, yellowish skin, and a MH letterman jacket with flames on the sleeves, who was a few inches shorter than the yeti.

"Am very happy annoyink Hot-Head is back!", Abby said, leaning her head against his. Everyone who knew him welcomed him back.

"Thanks, everyone!", he smiled. "It's good to be back!"

"Heath, I'd like you to meet some new friends this year", Clawd said. "Duncan, DJ, and Joe? This is Heath Burns; fire elemental.

"Good to meet'cha, Heath", DJ said. "I'm a cyborg."

"Cool!", Heath said, shaking his hand.

"S'up?", Joe said, offering a high-five. "I can turn into any material I touch."

"That's clawesome!", Heath said, completing the high-five.

"I've heard a lot about you", Duncan smirked, fist-bumping Heath. "Is it really true you set the swimming pool on fire?"

"Yeah, I did", he chuckled sheepishly. "But I've got way better control now. Are you really the son of Belloc?"

"Yeah", he smiled. "It took me a long time to accept who I am."

"I hear that, fire-brother."

"So are you ready for casketball season, Heath?", Clawd grinned.

"Am I ever!", Heath said enthusiastically. "But I think I'll just stick to casketball from now on, Clawd."

"Dude, I was just filling in on the Scream team while you were gone", Duncan said apologetically. "I got no problem with you taking your spot back when the Spring season starts."

"Are you kidding me, Dude?", Heath smiled, smacking Duncan on the back. "I watched **_all_** your games! You're a **way** better player than I **ever** was! My spot is yours, Bro!"

Many of those who knew Heath were amazed at this admission! It was very un-like the hot-headed braggart they used to know. Apparently, he learned a little humility along with control at Volcano Academy. Duncan smiled. He **did** **_love_** to play, and all his team-mates nodded in agreement.

The first bell rang just then, so they all went inside.

"I'll see you all later", Lagoona said. "I have to get to the pool. Kala Mer-ri might be coming for a visit!"

"That's voltageous news, Lagoona!", Frankie said.

xxXXxx

 **(The Great Scarrier Reef)**

"Are you sure about this, Kala?", Posea asked.

"I can't risk going into another mating cycle, Posea!", Kala Mer'ri said in a desperate tone. "Last time, I tore through half the town on a horrific, hormonal rampage trying to catch and mate with Croc Dundeen before my Dad caught and restrained me! I even hurt my friends Pearl and Peri when they got in my way! Now Dad is away helping Leviathan, so there would be no one who could stop me this time."

"And what makes you so sure that it won't just happen at Monster High?", the daughter of Poseidon asked.

"Because there are no male sea monsters there", Kala smiled. "Just Lagoona and her freshy boyfriend, and she told me last night that he's home with a gill infection."

"So be it", Posea said. "But, you will take four of my sea-mares with you for company and keep an eye on you. Agreed?"

"Fine, fine", Kala said as four small sea-horse-tailed mer-sprites swam over to her. "Please just send me there!"

"Just one more thing", Posea said. "I'll give you the ability to change your tail and tentacles into legs and back at will. It should make walking around there easier for you."

xxXXxx

Lagoona was waiting by the Monster High pool. If Kala could convince Posea to send her, she should arrive any minute.

The pool suddenly began to swirl into a whirlpool with mystical light. When it died down and returned to normal, Kala Mer'ri emerged from the water.

"Kala!", Lagoona rushed to her childhood friend.

"Lagoona!", Kala hugged her with her four arms. "Thanks for helping me with this."

"No worries, mate!", Lagoona giggled. "It's the least I could do for the ghoul who scared the hell out of my ex-boyfriend. I almost wish you'd **caught** Croc the last time your cycle hit!"

"Ugh! I don't know why I chose **him!** ", Kala laughed. "Thank the tides that my Dad stopped me!"

"You know how it is; a sea ghoul's mating cycle hits her, and she goes on a hormone-induced rampage to mate with the most physically suitable male around. Thank goodness that gets easier once we choose a willing mate."

"Speaking of", Kala grinned slyly. "How are things between you and Gil?"

"Couldn't be better", Lagoona sighed lovingly. "I just wish he weren't so sick."

"Actually, that's probably a **good** thing while I'm here!", Kala laughed.

"I guess you're right", Lagoona giggled. "Because no way am I sharing him! Let's head inside. The ghouls will be happy to see you."

"Sure. Just a sec", Kala said, then she turned back to the sea-mares in the pool. "Just stay here. Lagoona and I will be back later."

Kala then stepped out of the pool, and straightened her skirt.

"What the…? Kala! You have legs?!"

"I know, right? Posea gave me the ability to switch back and forth at will while I'm here", she smiled.

"That's clawesome!" Lagoona said. "Ms. Bloodgood gave us permission to sleep here in the school pool while you're visiting, and join me for classes."

Kala relaxed for the first time in days as she walked with Lagoona into Monster High. Over the course of the morning, she reconnected with all the guys and ghouls she had become friends with since Lagoona and her ghoulfriends came to visit the reef last year, plus meeting Jinx and two of the new guys this year: Joe Osmos, who was dating Venus; and DJ, a cyborg boy dating Robecca.

However, a strange….alluring scent came to her nose and gently tickled the back of her mind. She especially caught it whenever she was around Clawdeen. Kala shrugged it off and tried to ignore it. Nothing to worry about! Lagoona had assured her that the two of them were the only sea monsters at Monster High right now.

Lunchtime came around and the two of them went to the creepateria. All the guys and ghouls were there, plus a scaly new face who was sitting rather cozily with Clawdeen.

"Kala!", Clawdeen waved, prompting her to come closer. "I'd like you to meet my boyfriend!"

"Duncan Rosenblatt", the dreamy, golden-haired reptile said pleasantly, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Kala."

She shook his hand, and she felt something at his touch...a tingle. Then she realized that the scent she'd been picking up all morning was coming from **him!** She smiled and shrugged it off. He's not a sea monster, no need to worry.

"Same here, Duncan", she smiled.

"You two have something in common", Lagoona smiled. "You're both the hybrid children of kaijus."

"No way!", Duncan exclaimed. "I thought I was the only one!"

"My mom was a mermaid", Kala explained. "And my Dad is the Kraken."

"Cool!", he said. "My mom is normie, and my Dad is Belloc."

"Your dad is **_Belloc?!_** The **King** of the Kaiju?", Kala said in shock. No wonder he was so **_deliciously_** handsome; he's a Prince! Wait…What?! "Wow!"

As lunch progressed, Duncan and Kala talked non-stop about what it was like growing up as the children of kaiju. Like how Kala's mom unfortunately died in childbirth, leaving her dad to raise her alone; and Duncan being raised as a normie by his mom most of his life. Clawdeen was ok with it. This was the first time Duncan had met anyone he had so much in common with, and she was confident in the loving loyalty of her mate.

"Meow. Hey, Kala", Toralei said, walking up with the twins.

"Toralei! Hey!", Kala stood to hug the werecat. "It's been awhile. What's new?"

"Yeah, Toralei", Clawdeen smirked, while the rest of the ghouls smiled knowingly. "What's new?"

"Reow! I don't know what you're talking about!", she glared at the werewolf.

"Let's see", Frankie grinned. "You three have been a lot nicer and more cooperative ever since….when was it? Oh yeah! The Halloween party!"

"Really?", Kala asked. "What happened?"

"Reow! Nothing! Nothing happened at all!", Toralei hissed as she and the twins blushed.

"Oh come on, Toralei!", Duncan smirked. "You haven't even tried to flirt with **me** since that night! The whole school already knows, so you might as well let the cat out of the bag!"

"Fine! Reow", she said resignedly, Meowlody and Purrsephone looking sheepish.

"We met three pranksters from New Salem High", Toralei said softly.

"What was that, Toralei?" Draculaura smiled knowingly. "We can't hear you?"

"We're dating normies, okay?!", Toralei exclaimed much louder this time. The entire creepateria broke out in applause and cheers. "We have a lot in common, ok?"

"Wow, Toralei", Kala said, then hugged her again. "I'm glad you three found guys who make you happy."

"Oh, you can say that again", Toralei smirked as the twins grinned, remembering their plans for pranks that they were working on for both schools for April Fools Day with Lee, Jamal, and Miguel! And while she couldn't speak for the twins' experiences with Jamal and Miguel; Toralei knew first-hand Lee was definitely as good a lover as he was a prankster!

The rest of the day, Kala's thoughts kept drifting back to Duncan. And the two classes they had together, she caught herself discreetly looking at him repeatedly. She shook her head to clear it.

'We have a lot in common, but he's no sea monster', she reminded herself. 'I am **fine**. I'm ok. I'm fine. I'm fine. I am in **total** control of myself and he is **_nothing_** more than a new friend…..no matter how **yummy** and **_dreamy_** he is….What?! Stop it!'

After school, the guys and ghouls threw an impromptu dinner party for Kala's arrival and visit. The pizzas, soda, chips, and cookies were enjoyed by all in and around the school swimming pool. Again, Kala found her gaze frequently drifting to Duncan as he partied with Clawdeen on his arm. She could tell they really love each other….dammit! Wait! What?!

The party began to break up around 8pm, as everyone began to say their 'good night'-s and 'see you tomorrow'-s to Kala and Lagoona.

Duncan walked up to Kala after Clawdeen had said her 'good night'.

"It was great meeting you, Kala", he smiled as he shook her hand again, then pulled her into a friendly hug. His alluring scent flooded her senses, and the feel of his sleeveless arms around her set her blood on fire! She could feel the hard muscles of his body, and began to melt inside. When he broke the hug, she didn't want it to end! "I'll see you tomorrow, my Kaiju Cousin."

"R-right! Of course!", she stammered as he walked over to Clawdeen, who wrapped her arm around his and walked away with him.

"Need a ride home, Beautiful?" he asked her.

"You know it, Hot-Stuff", she grinned. Then he leaned in to kiss her sweetly.

Kala Mer'ri stifled a hiss in her throat when she saw that. Wait. Why was she hissing? Ugh! Forget it!

"Hey, Lagoona", she called to her old friend. "Can I help you with your homework before we go to sleep?"

"Thanks, Kala, that would be great", Lagoona smiled. Then she looked up at the darkening sky. "I think we should leave a few of these tiki torches burning all night, Kala. It gets pretty dark out here."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Perseus was Deuce's DAD?! Yup! I planned that reveal a long time ago, back when I first mentioned artifacts being stolen and Medusa telling Margaret the story of Perseus taking pity on her and sparing her life back in the day.**

 **The "Jason/Lilith" lemon will appear soon in my rated 'M' work: "You Make Lemonade"! And come on guys; who** ** _hasn't_** **had the fantasy of a she-demon with a heart of gold?**

 **And what the hell is going on with Kala Mer'ri? Wait and see next chapter! LOL!**

 **xxXXxx**


	54. Chapter 53: Love is a Battlefield

**_Hey,Everyone! This chapter is gonna be a really fun ride! I want to thank my friend Creaturemaster not only for the inspiration from his stories for the events of this chapter, but also for his tips and hints that were extremely helpful! Some things to remember; like Duncan, as the child of a kaiju, Kala Mer'ri is_** **far stronger** ** _than she looks! Plus, her condition has increased her strength to rival Duncan's!_**

 ** _The song is my variation of the mermaid song from 'Pirates of the Carribean: On stranger tides'! To truly get a sense of how beautiful and eerie it is, look for 'Pirates Medley-Peter Hollens and the Gardiner sisters' at about the 1:21 mark. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 53

Lagoona woke shortly after mid-night to a strange, yet eerily beautiful sound. It was the sea-mares that had come with Kala, singing a lovely yet wordless song. They were around Kala in the pool, and when Kala herself began to sing, the dim light of the tiki torches made it all the more ethereal.

 _Come all ye pretty fair maids,_

 _Who ever you may be,_

 _Who love a jolly sailor bold,_

 _That plows the raging sea._

 _My heart is pierced by Cupid._

 _I disdain all glittering gold._

 _There is nothing can console me,_

 _But my jolly sailor bold._

 _Come all ye pretty fair maids,_

 _Who seek to play your part,_

 _Who love a mighty hero bold,_

 _With raging fire in his heart._

 _My heart is pierced by Cupid._

 _I disdain all glittering gold._

 _There is nothing can console me,_

 _But my mighty hero bold._

 _Come all ye pretty fair maids,_

 _Who ever you may be,_

 _Who love a jolly sailor bold,_

 _That plows the raging seas._

 _My heart is pierced by Cupid._

 _I disdain all glittering gold._

 _There is nothing can console me,_

 _But my jolly sailor bold._

Lagoona had to admit, Kala Mer'ri was as beautiful a singer as she was a dancer. But why she was singing at this time of night was a mystery to her. And a love song? If she didn't know any better, she'd think…..no, impossible. There were no male sea monsters at school. Lagoona relaxed and let the beautiful yet eerie song lull her back to sleep.

xxXXxx

The next day, Kala had only one thing on her mind, and shaped her whole morning on getting what she wanted! But she had to be smart, play coy until just the right moment. Until then, she and the unknowing Lagoona went about things as planned. After showering in the ghouls locker-room, Kala got dressed and applied her make-up as usual, but instead of tying her orange-streaked indigo hair up in a ponytail, she wore it down in attractive waves…..oddly similar to Clawdeen's usual hair-style. And along with her top and sleeveless long coat, she wore a scandalously short skirt over her new legs and heels. She turned quite a few heads as she and Lagoona had breakfast in the creepateria with the dorm students.

Through morning classes and activities, she watched Duncan at every opportunity. Then during their morning free-period, she saw her chance in the student lounge! He was chatting with the guys and ghouls while Clawdeen seemed occupied with her sketch-book.

"Hey, Duncan", Kala smiled. "Can I talk to you privately for a minute?"

"Morning, Kala", Duncan smiled. "I don't see why not. Clawdeen?"

"Go ahead, Sweetie", Clawdeen said without looking up. "I got these designs I gotta finish. BTW, one of them is for you!"

"You're the best, Clawdeen", he smiled as he stood up. They walked across the crowded lounge to one of the entrances.

"So what's up, Kala?", he asked innocently, his body language showing he was completely at ease.

'Good, I have a chance to subdue him before he can react!', she thought to herself.

"I just wanted to thank you for your kindness and understanding", she said, slowly moving closer.

"It's nothing", he smiled warmly. "We kaiju-kids gotta stick together, right?"

'oh, I intend to my love!', she thought.

"If there's **anything** I can do to repay you, I'm **always** available", she purred, tracing her fingers across his chest, making him shiver slightly.

"Uh, sure? But I think we better head back now", he said nervously, taking a step back where they had come. She lashed out and grabbed his arms with two of her own, another on his chest and the last caressing his face as she pushed him against the wall, her body pressed to his!

"But I can show you my appreciation right now?", she cooed huskily as she kissed his cheek. "I promise, I'll make you feel **really** good!"

"Oh, no! Not **again!** " he groaned.

"Kala", Clawdeen growled softly in warning, " **what** are you doing all up in my boyfriend's grill?"

Kala hissed! The rival! She hissed a second time, this time spraying ink from under her tongue into Clawdeen's face, just as the other ghouls arrived.

"Ugh! I can't see!", the werewolf snarled as she tried vainly to clear her vision.

Lagoona's eyes widened to the size of plates as she realized what was happening!

 ** _"DUNCAN! RUN!"_** , she screamed as she tackled her old friend away from him!

"But what….?"

"There's no time!" Lagoona yelled, struggling with Kala. "Her instinct to **_mate_** with **you** has over-ridden all her senses! **Just** ** _run_** **!** "

Duncan jumped over them and ran down the passageway just a moment before Kala was able to throw Lagoona at her friends and take off after him! He thanked his lucky stars that the school hallways were clear, as all other students were in classes.

"You….will be….MINE!", she called after him.

"Nope! I will be **gone**!", he called over his shoulder. He had every confidence in his speed and parkour skills, but the fact that she was slowly gaining on him had him worried. If he could just get outside he could take to the air! Kala maybe a fellow half-kaiju on a crazed hormonal mission to get in his pants, but she can't **fly!**

"Duuunnnncaaannn! Come baaaaaack!", she begged running as fast as her new legs would carry her.

"Why should I?"

"I want you inside me!", she pleaded.

"Oh, like that doesn't sound totally creepy!", he yelled as he reached the school-proper. 'Ok, now I got hallways, stairways, and empty rooms I can try to lose her in…..or at last give me some distance or chances to hide!'

He stopped a moment at a junction of hallways to decide which way to go….and was tackled and pinned to the ground by a lustfully grinning Kala Mer'ri! She straddled his legs, and pinned his arms with two of her own, and lovingly caressed his face with her other two hands as she cuddled up to his chest.

"Mmmmmm. Even warmer than last night", she cooed as she raised herself up slightly. Duncan noticed that apparently she had shed her coat at some point. She now reached up and shredded her top with her free hands; leaving only her pink bra barely containing her breasts. Then she leaned down to kiss him, and he twisted his face away. She growled lustily and held his face with her free hands, and crushed her lips to his, forcing her tongue into his mouth.

With a surge of strength, he threw her off him and she tumbled over a trash can. Duncan took that moment to run. He flew up some stairs, gaining a little distance. He ran into an empty classroom, shutting the door and barricading it with the teacher's desk. He sat down, leaning against the desk catching his breath, when he heard hinges creak behind him. That sound might as well be a coffin opening as he turned to look. Kala was opening the door…..he had failed to notice that the door opened into the **hall** , not the room. She stared at him with a hungry, lustful smile.

"Hey, Sexy", she purred. "I gotta admit, the chase is turning me on. But just give up. I **promise** it will be better than you can **_imagine_**."

"Kala, you're not yourself!", he panted. "I **don't** want this, and I don't want to **hurt** you. Please don't force me to."

"Oooh!", she cooed. "Playing rough? I can do that, it might be even more exciting."

And she lunged at Duncan…..who just barely managed to somersault over her and dash out the door. Kala was hot on his heels. He made a quick turn into the li-scary which, thankfully, only had a few students at the time. He jumped up on top of the book-shelves and began to jump-run from one row to the next to get across the room, as Kala chased him from below. He leaped off the last row to glide down to the lower level, while Kala jumped up and slid down the bannister of the stairs. Duncan jump-ran across the li-scary tables until he grabbed a hanging light to swing over the li-scarians desk/check-out area, did a back-flip in the air and landed at the exit, which he ran through with a smile. Kala marveled at his prowess as her desire for him increased. Those moves had given him a few precious feet of distance on her. After jumping across the tables herself, she opted to slide under and past the check-out counter to the exit. She saw him enter a door at the far end of the hall, and pursued him.

Duncan found himself in the weight-room. He grabbed up the bar of an empty dumbbell, thrust it through the door handles and bent it tight. The moment he was done, Kala slammed against the doors. He heard her grunt with frustration just before she slammed even harder against the doors. Thankfully, the room was built to withstand weight-training for monsters. But Duncan was still not sure how long the doors could hold up against the strength of a half-kaiju that was half-crazed with one of the most primal urges known to nature. Then he noticed that she had stopped assaulting the doors…..and he got more worried.

He cautiously went up to look out the small, narrow, rectangular windows of the doors…..and started when Kala's face was suddenly pressed against it. Her eyes and grin showing only lust and desire. She then punched the window, easily knocking out the glass, and then grinned at him through the hole.

"Give up, Kala", he smirked. "Even a gnome couldn't fit through that opening."

"Oh, you don't know me very well, my love….", she grinned lustily, then arched her eye-brow suggestively, "… ** _yet_**."

She then began to squeeze herself through the hole…..like an octopus into a wine bottle!

"Aw, sphinx!", Duncan groaned as she retook her two-legged 'normal' shape after getting through the broken window. She had minor cuts from the glass here and there…..plus the broken glass had shredded the remainder of her clothes off of her body. She stood, naked, in a seductive posture; positive that she now had him trapped. The room was too small for him to avoid her for long and she was between him and the only door. Plus, he himself had secured it so well that even if he got past her, she would be on him before he could get it open.

He desperately picked up a fully-loaded barbell and threw it at her. She caught it as easily as he had thrown it and tossed it aside. She started to walk toward him with a seductive sway to her hips, running her hands up and down her naked body in anticipation.

Duncan saw no way out without possibly injuring her severely; something he would rather avoid. Her actions were not her fault. She and Lagoona had told their friends that she had come here to **avoid** going through this. He faked right, then left, only for her to mirror him perfectly. When he set his stance, she knew she had him. She switched to her tentacled original form and licked her lips as she prepared to pounce.

There was a cracking sound, then the doors burst open. Abby had frozen the handles and the metal bar holding then charged in and froze Kala Mer'ri in a block of ice before she could react. The yeti smirked at Duncan.

"Owed kaiju-boy for saving me from Argost", Abby said. "Now….we are even."

"Thanks, Abby", he said, just before the block started to crack! "Gotta run! Thanks, again!"

Duncan dashed through the door as the block shattered. Before Abby could freeze her again, Kala grabbed her in her tentacles and slammed her into a wall. She then switched back to legs to give chase again, following the alluring scent of her desired mate.

Duncan was running—literally!—out of options. He needed to avoid the side of the school where the daycare center was. And while the relatively empty hallways meant less chance of bystanders getting hurt, it also made it easier for Kala to pursue him! She was easily keeping pace with his speed and tactics of using obstacles and switch-backs. He burst into the clawditorium then glided down over the seats to the stage. Kala switched to tentacles and clambered over the seats quickly and reached the stage just after he ducked behind the curtain.

'She's worse than Torq and his Horde!', he thought to himself, remembering his first day at this school when the school bullies chased him.

"Why, Duncan! You baaaaad boy!", she said huskily, following him behind the curtain. "Doing it on stage would be **fun!** We could show **all** the guys and ghouls how it's **_really_** done!"

He had taken cover among the stage scenery, slowing his breath and pulse the way Jinafire had taught him, while remaining physically ready to move quickly.

"Hiding, my love?", Kala giggled. "I can play that game, too."

Kala Mar'ri suddenly faded from sight. Duncan grinned, and switched to seeing in infrared, a trick he'd picked up recently. He couldn't do it long without his eyes hurting big-time, but he still did not see her!

'She must be cold-blooded', he thought to himself, just before he was grabbed from behind! When he was rolled over, he saw a female shape that seemed covered by their surroundings with a pair of lustful blue eyes. The shape turned into a grinning Kala, straddling him and holding him down with two of her arms as the other two ripped his shirt off.

"Natural camouflage ability", she grinned.

"I gotta tell ya, Kala", he said, impressed. "You got some crazy parkour skills."

"Why thank you, my love. Those aren't the only skills I have", she smiled seductively, as she leaned down to kiss and lick his neck. She was on a proactive mission to turn him on, using methods that would make his body respond despite what his head and heart told him, and it was working. He could feel the bulge swelling in his pants, as did Kala; she moaned and rubbed her nether-region on the growing bulge.

"Can't we talk about this?", he said, trying to buy time.

"Sure, Sweetie", she cooed, biting her lower lip. "We can talk all night, every night for rest of our lives if you want."

"Not what I meant!"

She panted as she reached down, intending to open his pants. With surge of strength, and her slightly off balance, Duncan threw her off of him and into a pile of stage props and scenery. He then ran for the stage door, slamming it open as he barreled through.

Kala screeched ferociously as she threw the junk off of her and chased after him again! How did her intended keep escaping her?! Only once had he needed help to escape so far. His mind and physical prowess were amazing! Only **_he_** , in all the world, was worthy of her! And the children they would spawn would be so beautiful and powerful and perfect!

"DUUUUUNNNNNCAAAAANNNN, STOP RRRUUUUUUNNNNNIIIINNNNGG!", she pleaded as she followed his scent through the school.

Duncan ran into the creepateria, and thrust a nearby mop through the door handles. Then ran to the other door. Locked.

"Talk about a bad time for déjà vu!", he groaned as he dove over the serving counter to hide. The lunch lady who tended the coffee station came out and saw him. He held a finger to his lips, silently begging her not to give him away just as Kala threw herself against the doors. She grunted in frustration, and slammed into them again, causing the lunch lady to run back into the kitchen.

Kala rammed her shoulder into the doors again and this time the mop handle snapped and the doors flew open.

"I know you're in here, my love", she cooed. "Come out, come out, wherever you are?"

A chill went up Duncan's spine. He was trapped in the creepateria, his only exit was blocked by a ghoul whose biological insanity had her dead set on mating with him, even at the cost of her own life. He looked around for **anything** that could help him.

Following the scent of her beloved, Kala came closer and closer, a sexy sway in her every step; her finger casually tracing along the tray-slide of the serving counter. There. He was just over the counter. Just as she was about to leap over the counter to pounce on her love and mate with him whether he wanted to or not, he leaped into view and began to hurl tomatoes at her. She was able to dodge or block them all until he lunged at her with a pineapple cream-pie. He got her in the face. He was about to dash for the door when he looked up. The big windows. To the outside! He went full kaiju and extended his wings.

"I'll have the owe the school a window!", he said as he smashed through it, just as Kala wiped enough pie off her face to see again. He looked back, and saw her climb the wall and out the window with her tentacles. She leaped up at him, but he was just out of reach. He began to fly toward the back of the school.

"Sorry, Kala", he called cheerfully as he looked back at her. "But I think this is over. As powerful as you are you can't fly-ai-ai-aieee! Hey! What the hell?"

He had flown through one of Wydowna Spyder's webs while he wasn't watching where he was going! It gave way easily enough, but it was sticky and hindering his speed and altitude. He struggled to stay aloft and ahead of Kala. He didn't notice that they were headed toward the swimming pool.

Another near-miss from Kala as they entered the pool-side area and Duncan had enough. He breathed fire on himself to burn off the webs, as Kala jumped into the pool and switched to her tentacled form. She dove deep, then surged upward to leap high out of the water. The move surprised Duncan, and very nearly caught him! As she fell back into the water, he flew higher out of her reach. The only thing on her mind was to mate with her chosen one, make him hers for as long as they lived, and raise family together; spawning many beautiful children. And to her procreation-centered mind, Duncan was the most compatible, most desirable, and most perfect of all available mates on the planet. She dove and surged upward again, only to fall short again. Kala screamed a war cry that would freeze the blood of a kaiju.

Kala Mer'ri surfaced to stare up at her love. So close yet so far! She screamed again in anguish and frustration.

"It's **over** , Kala", he said, breathing heavy. "You **can't** reach me."

Just then, Kala noticed the cluster of multi-leveled diving-boards and platforms behind him, and her eyes widened with hope. She dove down and released her ink, darkly clouding the water. Duncan couldn't see her anywhere. Beneath the surface, Kala swam quickly to the diving area and in a series of leaps and bounds up the various levels, she got closer to him before he knew she was there!

"YOU'RE MINE!", she screamed lustily as she made one final insane leap! Time seemed to slow as he turned and saw her, his face twisted with horror as she grabbed him with all four arms and her tentacles!

"Impregnate me!", she begged as they fell toward the water. She let go with one hand to go for his belt . If she got him in the water, he was done! His inner-fire surged and he roared as the flames from his mouth formed a large fire-ball between them and exploded with great force! Kala fell into the water as Duncan sailed backwards to land among some lounge chairs poolside at the far end, barely conscious. He had never done that before, and it took everything he had left. He just hoped that Kala was ok and out cold.

Beneath the water, Kala Mer'ri woke just moments after hitting the water. She was her father's daughter, and the water was healing her at an accelerated rate. However, she **was** near the end of her endurance. She emerged from the pool not far from Duncan, all her cuts and burns healed, and shifted to two-legs. Duncan saw her naked form approaching him, and passed out, helpless.

"At last", she panted, walking seductively over to her desired mate. She ached to feel his heat pressed against her, inside her, and flood her with such liquid warmth that would make her feel as if she were back in the tropical waters of her home. "Don't worry, my love. I promise a **lifetime** of pleasures you never **dreamed** of. And the **children!** ….oh, the children we will have together…. starting **_now_**." She unbuckled his belt, licking her lips.

 ** _"KALA!"_**

Kala hissed as she turned to see who **dared** interrupt…..only to be tackled by a **very** **_angry_** Clawdeen Wolf! After tumbling several times, the werewolf picked the cecaelia up and threw her bodily into the pool. Clawdeen then went to Duncan to see if he was ok. He was breathing ok, but what had that insane move of his done to him?

When Kala rose from the pool again, Clawdeen turned and took a fighting stance to defend her mate, snarling at Kala as she approached.

"Back off, Kala!", she growled. "Duncan is **mine!** We bonded as life-mates months ago! And you better hope he's not hurt too bad!"

"Don't make me hurt you, Clawdeen!", Kala warned. "I'm half-kaiju, just like him! He belongs with **me!** You're no match for me in my normal state. They way I am now, I could maim or kill you by accident!"

"Don't even think about it, Seafood Platter!", Clawdeen snarled as Kala stepped closer, and brought out her 'Alpha state'; becoming more wolf-like in appearance, complete with bushy tail emerging from under her short, purple ruffled skirt. "Don't underestimate me! I am the Alpha of all Werewolves, and there ain't no way I'm am letting you anywhere near **my mate!"**

Kala Mer'ri shrieked again at this challenge. **Her** mate?!

"You don't understand, Clawdeen! He is the one….the perfect one…the only one who…ugh!", Kala grunted as she fell forward unconscious…to reveal Jinafire, who had snuck up behind the crazed sea monster and delivered a sharp chop to just the right place on the back of Kala's neck.

"Thanks, Jin", Clawdeen breathed, returning to normal. "Even with everything, Kala is still our friend and I really didn't want to hurt her."

"Nor I, Clawdeen", the dragon ghoul said. "Thank you for distracting her long enough for me to get behind her. It is a shame that young sea monster mating cycles are so…..extreme."

"No worries, mates", Lagoona said as she dressed Kala in some fresh clothes that she brought out. "Mating cycles only last about 24 hours, so she'll be fine by tomorrow. Don't be surprised if she won't stop apologizing."

"But what if she wakes up before that?", Frankie asked.

"I can help with that", Claire said as she arrived poolside. She pulled out a small vial and popped the cork. "Aunt Boodika says that this will keep her asleep until dawn tomorrow."

DJ and Joe helped Duncan up as he slowly came to.

"Please tell me she didn't….?", he started to ask.

"Sorry, Hot-Stuff", Clawdeen said sadly. "It looks like you're gonna have at least one kid swimming around the Great Scarrier Reef nine months from now."

 ** _"WHAT?!"_**

Everyone suddenly burst out laughing….Clawdeen loudest of all!

"Y-you sh-should've s-seen your f-faaaaace!", she guffawed, tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh! Very funny, Babe!", he said as he leaned down to kiss her still giggling lips. "You're gonna pay for that…whoa!(a wave of dizziness made him sway on his feet until his friends steadied him again) Just as soon as I can only see **one** of you!"

"Let's get you to the nurse, Handsome", Clawdeen said, then kissed him deeply.

"I'll put Kala in the pool", Lagoona said. "And I'll stay with her….just in case. Please tell the Headmistress?"

"You got it, ghoul", Frankie said as she and the others went inside.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: This was one of the chapters I had planned from the beginning and really looked forward to doing! I gotta thank my friend, Creaturemaster, again for all his help and for the chapters from his stories that inspired me! If any of you haven't done so yet, look him up and check out his works!**

 **I won't get to my next chapter until I post the Lilith/Jason lemon in my rated 'M' work, but it shouldn't take me long.**

 **Reviews and suggestions are welcome as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	55. Chapter 54

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter will set-up a major story-arc that I have been planning almost since the beginning, and that many of my readers have been looking forward to! I must confess, coming up with a set-up scenario wasn't easy, but I am positive you all will enjoy it!_**

Chapter 54

Kala Mer'ri spent the morning apologizing profusely to everyone for her hormonal rampage the previous day, especially Clawdeen and Duncan. Ghoulia theorized that Duncan's combined normie and kaiju genetic make-up just happened to be compatible with Kala's own kaiju-hybrid genes, resulting in the triggering of her mating cycle. Everyone assured Kala that they didn't blame her; plus no-harm, no foul.

"G'day, Lagoona", a voice said.

Everyone turned to look, and saw a scaly, crocodile monster wearing red and black board-shorts and a black muscle-shirt; his long, muscular tail trailing behind him.

"Croc?", Lagoona said, surprised. "Crikey, what are you doing here?"

"Posea sent me", he said with a sharp-toothed smile.

"Everyone", Lagoona said, "this is Croc Dundeen; my ex-boyfriend from back home."

They all greeted him with polite caution, including Kala; who also seemed a bit embarrassed.

"So why did Posea you send here, Croc?", Lagoona asked.

"She asked me to bring Kala Mer'ri home", he said, a faint blush showing through his scales.

"Why would she do that?", Kala asked, blushing slightly herself.

"Weeeell", he smiled sheepishly, "as scared and 'not ready' as I was then, I was kinda flattered that you chose me the last time your cycle came around. It also got me thinkin' I needed to turn things around and do somethin' with my life. And if you had chosen me again, I was gonna….um….let you catch me."

"What are you saying?", Kala asked with hope widened eyes.

"I'm sayin'….Crikey! I'm sayin' I want to be with you and only you", he said, blushing furiously.

"Um…Lagoona?", Kala said, blushing brightly. "Would you mind too terribly if I cut my visit short?"

"Go, Kala", her friend replied with a smile. "Go and be happy."

"Hey, Croc", Duncan called out with a grin. "Bit of advice: don't ever make her mad. She's way stronger than she looks!"

"Crikey! I know that! It's one of the things I love about her!", he smiled, then looked shocked. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yup!", Clawdeen smiled. "And judging by her blush, she heard you!"

xxXXxx

Claire liked coming to her Aunt's classroom during her free period to get in more Magick study-time or help clean up or set-up for class. She and all the other students had learned a lot from Boodika already. When she arrived today, her Aunt wasn't there; so she took her seat and opened her potions book. A few minutes later, she heard a strange sound coming from the tall, antique cabinet near the magick mirror. Claire was curious, but Aunt Boodika had warned her not to touch anything there without her present.

Suddenly, the doors to the cabinet flew open. Claire cautiously went to get a closer look. She saw a small, ancient urn shaking on the top shelf.

"Please! Help me!" a faint voice came from the urn.

"Who-who are you?", Claire asked.

"Just a lost soul, seeking eternal rest in the afterlife."

"How did you get in there?", Claire asked.

"I was cursed upon my death, and my soul imprisoned in this urn. Will you please free me to join my family in the afterlife? Please! I beg you!"

Claire's heart went out to this poor spirit and their heart-breaking story.

"How can I help you?"

"Just break the urn, and I will be freed. Please! Hurry!"

Claire picked up the urn, turning it over in her hands.

"Hello, Claire", Boodika said as she entered. Claire dropped the urn in surprise and it shattered on the floor.

"I'm sorry!", Claire said.

"Claire, what are you doing there? Oh, no!"

" **FREE!** ", grey-green energy swirled and formed into the ghost of an ancient knight. A malicious grin split his face. "Finally! After so many centuries! Thank you, my dear! Only one of the family blood-line could free me from that accursed urn!"

xxXXxx

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the school at that moment; Dani Phantom feels a sharp chill go up her spine, and blue mist comes out of her mouth. 'Whoa! A new ghost? And a wicked powerful one at that!'

xxXXxx

"Claire! Get away from him!", Boodika called desperately.

"Too late!", the ghost sneered, just as he phased into Claire's body! Her clothes transformed into female leather and chain-mail armor with a dark witches cloak over her shoulders. Claire opened her eyes, which were now glowing red, a smirk on her face.

"Mordred!", Boodika yelled. "Release my grand-niece immediately!"

"I don't think so", the combined voice sneered. "You would not dare cause or allow any harm to come to this body!"

Mordred laughed as he levitated. Boodika threw a bolt of light magick at him/her, in the hope of stunning Mordred. Mordred blocked it easily with a sneer.

"You waste your efforts! I'm far more powerful that you!", the possessed Claire laughed _. "With this curse, I lay waste the past; and seal your fate with a fiery blast!"_

The spell hurled multiple blue fire-balls at Boodika, who dodged desperately and took cover behind her desk; which got blasted to pieces. When she looked up, Mordred was gone.

"I must inform the Headmistress!"

xxXXxx

Mordred—in Claire's body—strode the halls of the school as he learned about this new age from her memories.

'A school for monsters', Mordred grinned inwardly. 'So many potential, powerful minions!'

Mordred still seethed over the past. His mother, Morganna Le Fey, wanted him to be king, an ambition he embraced! As a mighty warrior-mage, he was determined to destroy King Arthur and all his so-called 'Knights of the Round Table'! But when he began using the darkest of arts to achieve this goal, his own mother turned against him! She had helped Arthur, Merlin, and Galahad to defeat and destroy him. But thanks to his dark magicks, his spirit not only stayed in this world, but he retained all of his powers! His mother helped them again by trapping and containing him, but he had already set the fall of Camelot in motion. He did grin at that memory.

He would, of course, eventually need to destroy Boodika. As one of the family line, she had the power to imprison him again.

xxXXxx

"Mordred? As in the son and first child of your own ancestor?", Bloodgood asked.

"Yes", Boodika said. "Long ago, Morganna helped to defeat him—her own son—when he delved into magicks and knowledge that were too dangerous in his single-minded quest to overthrow Arthur and make himself king. Afterward, she sealed his ghost within the urn. To redeem herself and her family line, she became the keeper of the urn, and it has passed down the family line ever since. The seal was bound by Le Fey blood-magick, so it could only be broken by one of our family line. Somehow, from within the urn, he must have tricked Claire into freeing him. And in his….'gratitude', he possessed her!"

"Just how powerful and evil is he now?", Grace asked, becoming very concerned.

"He makes Hitler and Rasputin look like members of a childrens' choir", the witch said darkly. "And he's way out of the league of my students, especially with one short of the whole coven. But he's too powerful for me to defeat alone."

"Since he's a ghost", Grace said, "we do have a resident ghost expert in the school. (Grace activates the P.A. system) Attention please. Will Dani Phantom please report to the Headmistress' office immediately."

Dani phased through the door just seconds later.

"I was already on my way here, Ms. Bloodgood", she said. "I sensed the presence of a powerful new ghost."

"A very old ghost actually, my dear", Boodika said. "I was thinking of asking her help already, Grace. To defeat and exorcise Mordred from Claire will require three different powers working together: light magick, ghost energy, and the raw elemental power of fire."

"Heath Burns?", Grace suggested.

"No, he doesn't have enough power or control", Boodika said. "I need Duncan. But even if we succeed, the urn is destroyed. I could make a new one to contain Mordred's ghost, but it would take time we don't have."

"I have containment covered", Dani grinned, taking out a green and silver thermos. "A Fenton Thermos. My family has been capturing ghosts in these for years, and improving the tech over time as well. And if you need Duncan, I can text him right now."

"Ok, and I have a plan that I think will work", Boodika said. "Dani, come with me and text Duncan to meet us in my classroom. Grace, this is what I need you to do…"

xxXXxx

Mordred had found a large empty room with many rows of seats down to a stage. It was here that he decided the stretch and flex his magickal muscles after so many centuries.

"This girl's abilities and potential are impressive for one so young", he smiled to himself. "Combined with my power and knowledge, I dare say I could be as powerful as my mother was in her prime!"

Just then, the P.A. system crackled to life: "Attention, Students. Will all the Magickal Studies students please report to Boodika Le Fey in her classroom immediately for an urgent assignment."

"Damn! She must be trying to create another urn to capture me! If her other students are even half as talented as this girl, they could succeed fairly quickly! Buuuuut….", Mordred/Claire smirked. "It would be a simple pleasure to kill them before I finish her! If I hurry they won't have time to make the urn!"

Mordred walked back to the classroom, to give the students time to arrive so he could eliminate all of them. He burst into the room, intending for a 'shock&awe' ambush…..only to be blasted to the back wall of the room by a burst of light magick! He growled as he rose and levitated several feet in the air.

 _"Alohamos!"_ , Boodika called out, shutting and locking the door with magick. "This room is now magickally sealed, Mordred! You're trapped!"

"Where are your students, Boodika?", he growled in the double-voice of himself and Claire, as he glared at her.

"Did you really think I would risk the lives of my students?", she sneered. "With today's technology, I was able to tell them to ignore the false announcement. Now release my grand-niece at once and surrender!"

"Surely you jest!", Mordred laughed. "You are no match for me!"

"Maybe not alone", she smiled knowingly. "But I'm **not** alone."

At that moment. Dani became visible to her left, and Duncan came out of the storage closet to her right and turned full kaiju. Mordred growled. He recognized these two from the girl's memories! Boodika had the three powers required to stop him!

"NO! I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL!"

"Now!", Boodika called out to Dani and Duncan.

 _"Havada Kadavra!"_ , Mordred roared, at the same moment Boodika yelled, _"Expelliarmus Exorcizus!"_

The curse and spell collided between them, and it seemed that Boodika's spell was losing; until Dani added a concentrated beam of ecto-energy and Duncan added a tight, powerful stream of fire. The combined powers were beginning to slowly push back the Mordred's killing curse. The abundance of magickal energies were saturating the room and began to affect the magic mirror behind Duncan; the very same mirror that Cupid had departed Monster High through, and it began to glow!

The clashing energies reached critical-mass, and exploded! The bright flash through everyone in the room backwards. Mordred was the first to rise…..without Claire's unconscious body.

"Now, Dani!", Boodika called. The ghost-girl flew quickly and opened the Fenton Thermos in Mordred's face, sucking him inside.

"Nnnnnnoooooo!", he screamed as she closed it and tossed it to Boodika.

Boodika then cast a blood-seal spell on the Thermos, so again nobody outside of their family line could free Mordred.

"Got 'im!", she said satisfactorily. "I think I had better seal this in my vault from now on. I want to thank you both for your help."

"No problem", Dani said with a smile. "I can always get another Fenton Thermos from my dad and…wait. Ms. Le Fey, where's Duncan?"

"What?!", Boodika looked to her right, where Duncan had been. He was gone. And she saw her magick mirror flickering, then it went dark and cracked!

"Oh, no!", Boodika said. "He must've been sent to another realm! Grace is not going to like this!"

"Nevermind about Ms. Bloodgood", Dani said soberly. "What about Duncan's **family**? What about **_Clawdeen?!_** _"_

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Short chapter, I know, but this one was all about setting up for the next major story-arc. Some of you already know where Duncan went, so no spoilers! It's gonna be fun, plus more OC's and pairings!**

 **The spells used were again inspired by Harry Potter, except for the fire-ball spell used by the Mordred-possessed Claire, which is from the Ever After After High special; "Way Too Wonderland".**

 **And, oh yeah, Clawdeen is NOT going to be happy about Duncan being missing!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	56. Chapter 55: Welcome to Ever After!

**_Hey, Everyone! This is the start of a major story-arc in my story! I do not own Firebreather, Monster High, nor Ever After High. Arthur White, Dirk Knight, and Hadrian Hook are my OC's. Brutus Ogre is the name I have given to the large, grey-skinned fellow behind the refreshment stand at the True Hearts Day Dance from the EAH episode. And as 'wickedly' cool Fayebelle Thorn is, I am changing her look to resemble "Evie" from the Disney film "Descendants" but with her fairy-wings._**

 ** _The song "The Dancing and the Dreaming" is from "How to Train Your Dragon 2", although the version I am going with in this case is the accapella version sung by Peter and Evynne Hollens, although the dancing involved will be just like Stoik and Valka, but in time to the accapella version(it's a slower, more romantic feel)._**

 ** _The song "Rotten to the Core" is from "Descendants"._**

 ** _In the EAH episode "True Hearts Day", characters got kind of 'pop-up' intro-cards with a few bars of their personal theme. So, just for the fun of it, I will do the same for Duncan and my OC's!_**

 ** _I also want to thank my friend Creaturemaster once again for the inspiration I got from his stories, and for the use of his OC narrator; 'Turner Page', son of the two adult narrators and older brother of Brooke Page!_**

 ** _I also took the liberty to make a change to the end of the "Way Too Wonderland" EAH story to fit my story better, as I required the Storybook of Legends to still exist._**

 ** _Oh! Just one more thing(as Columbo and Jackie Chan's 'Uncle' would say); I have used songs in various chapters so far, and will again, but this particular arc will have more than usual. I just feel that Ever After just lends itself more to being 'musical'!_**

Chapter 54: Welcome to Ever After!

 _(Female Narrator) Gather around, Friends, and you will hear a new tale of Ever After High! It was a beautiful day at Ever After High, and Apple White was about to receive a special surprise._

 _(Male narrator) And she's not the only one in for that surprise!_

 _(Brooke Page)_ _ **Really?**_ _You're starting_ _ **there?**_ _What about_ _ **Duncan?!**_ _The handsome, dreamy, half-human Prince of the Kaijus?!_

 _(FN+MN) Brooooooke! No spoilers!_

 _(BP) But the Storybook of Legends is finally back in Ever After, and now no one can sign a page that isn't theirs thanks to the spell Raven Queen cast on it with her mother's wand._

 _(FN) What did we just say?_

 _(BP) The wasn't a spoiler._ _ **That**_ _was a recap._

 _(MN) She's right. In Wonderland, when Courtly Jester tried to sign Lizzie Hearts' page to steal her destiny and attacked her friends using the Evil Queen's spellbook, Raven Queen accepted her full powers from the wand she got in Heritage Hall to defeat the wild card. And after absorbing the spellbook, the power almost turned her evil, but Apple helped her come to her senses before it was too late._

 _(FN) So now things are back to normal at Ever After High, and the barriers to Wonderland have been removed along with the Evil Queen's curse._

 _(Turner Page) And here comes the first of the new arrivals._

Apple White is chatting with her friends Briar, Rosabella, Ashlynn, Daring, and Cedar out in front of the entrance to Ever After High. A young man whose eyes and hair match hers and a crown similar to Dexter Charming's quietly walks up behind her and covers her eyes. He was wearing black pants and boots with a red shirt and a sleeveless white leather jacket trimmed with gold studs.

"Guess who?", he smiles, eliciting a happy gasp from the princess.

"Arthur!", Apple cried joyfully, turning to embrace him.

Xxxxxx

 _( &-first __**vocal**_ _riff of 'Tarzan Boy' by Baltimora- &)_

 ** _Arthur White, Son of Snow White._**

Xxxxxx

"Whoa! Who is this?", Duchess asked, coming out of nowhere, smitten with the new boy. He was every bit as handsome as Daring Charming!

"Everyone, you all remember my twin brother Arthur?", Apple said.

" **This** is little Artie White?", Daring chuckled. "You finally got some height and muscle! The last time any of us saw you, you were just a little shrimp."

"Yeah, that's why Dad kept homeschooling me longer", Arthur said sheepishly. "But then I just suddenly hit my growth spurt, and here I am."

"It's so good to see you!", Apple said. "So you're joining me here at school now?"

"That's right, Sis! But I still need to see the Headmaster", he said cheerfully. 'And there's someone else I can't wait to see again', he thought to himself. 'But it's been years; ever since her mom pulled her from spell-ementary school half-way through 4th grade. I only hope she remembers me….remembers **us**.'

"Well, Arthur", Duchess said, taking his arm to cozy up to him. "I'm Duchess Swan. And I'll be **more** than happy to show you around."

"Uh…thanks", he said, a bit creeped-out. "But Headmaster Grimm's office will be fine."

"Well, all right", she pouted, then winked. "Just remember, I'm **always** available to help you with **anything** , ok, Arthur? Right this way."

Apple rolled her eyes with a small smile and followed along.

xxXXxx

Duncan woke up feeling a bit sore. He looked around to find he was in a stone room full of dusty old magickal equipment and a large damaged mirror. It was definitely not where he had been before. He stood and stretched.

"Where am I? This doesn't look like any part of Monster High I've seen before."

Xxxxxx

 _( &-music from the title-screen of the "Firebreather" cgi movie-&)_

 ** _Duncan Rosenblatt, Son of the Kaiju King._**

Xxxxxx

He opened the only door to find a stone staircase spiraling down. At the bottom he found a large door. When Duncan tried to open it, he found it would not budge. Barred from the outside, maybe? He knew he could just smash it open with sheer brute strength, but Jinafire had taught him better than that. He had no idea who this tower belonged to, and he had no right to damage it.

'There was a window back upstairs', he remembered as he went back up the stairs. Once he arrived, he simply extended his wings and glided to the ground. He looked around with a smile. The tower looked like it could easily belong to a medieval castle….except it was standing alone in a clearing, surrounded by woods. Weird.

"Hold it right there, monster!", a voice called out. Duncan whirled with a fire-ball ready in his throat. He saw a guy about his age holding a sword at the ready. He had short, spiky, black hair with purple highlights and purple eyes. He was wearing a black leather biker jacket trimmed with steel studs and chain-mail on the shoulders over a dark crimson shirt, dark purple jeans, and black high-top sneakers. And he looked extremely angry.

"Look, Dude, I'm sorry if I'm trespa….."

"You're gonna pay for all the villagers you killed and ate, monster!", the guy yelled before charging at him! Duncan ducked under his horizontal slash and palm-struck him in the chest, driving him back.

"I don't know what you're talking about!", Duncan urged, trying to reason with the guy. "I only just got here, I have no idea where I am, and only a vague hunch of how I got here!"

"Don't even try to deceive me!", the swordsman barked. "You are obviously a monster! The gnawed remains of eight villagers were found in the past month alone!"

"I never claimed I wasn't a monster", Duncan stated in a calmer tone, trying to get the guy to chill as they circled each other. "But I don't kill or eat people. I **protect** them."

"Liar! Monsters don't protect people!", the guy roared as he charged again. Duncan was forced to block with the hard, sharp ridges on his forearms, bringing his training to bear in defense and non-lethal counter-attack. The guy was good, but not good enough.

"I'm ending this…..now!", he said as he caught the sword-blade between his hands and yanked it from the grasp of his opponent. He then breathed a shot of fire at the ground between them, driving the guy back a few feet. He glared defiantly at Duncan, but stood his ground. 'This dude has courage, I'll give him that', Duncan thought.

"Look", Duncan said calmly, slowly extending the sword back to him. "I don't want to fight. I don't want to kill you, nor have I killed any villagers. How can I prove….."

A shrieking roar split the air as a large shadow fell over them. They each leapt aside as a large monster landed between them. It had a bulky body like a T-Rex, giant bat-like wings on it's back, longish-lanky arms with claws as long as sword-blades, long forked tail, longish thin neck with a large head, glowing red eyes, horns, two long center i-teeth like a rodent only pointed, and a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"I think we found the real culprit", Duncan said dryly. "What is that thing?"

"It's a jabberwock", the sword guy said warily. "Tough, strong, vicious, and carnivorous. Sorry about the mistake."

"No worries, as a friend of mine always says. I go high, you go low?"

"Agreed!", he grinned as he charged in while Duncan took to the air. The jabberwock's gaze followed Duncan, as being able to fly made him a greater threat. One sword swipe removed the beast's left hand, while Duncan punched it from above. It snapped it's jaws at Duncan, distracting it long enough for his ally to chop the other arm off at the elbow. It roared in pain, and snapped at the swordsman. Duncan then blasted it with fire, causing it to shriek in extreme pain.

Duncan then swooped in and grabbed it by it's buck-toothed over-bite and bent it's head back until he was standing on it's back; intending to break the monster's neck.*Ssssssplitch!* Duncan suddenly found himself holding the jabberwock's severed head as the body collapsed under him. He looked over and saw the swordsman cleaning his blade.

"Not too shabby, my friend", Duncan said as he dropped the head and extended his hand. "The name is Duncan Rosenblatt."

"Dirk Knight", the other said, shaking his hand with a smile.

Xxxxxx

 _( &-opening guitar riff of "Bad to the Bone", by George Thoroughgood and the Destroyers-&)_

 ** _Dirk Knight, Son of the Black Knight._**

Xxxxxx

"I was on my way to enroll at Ever After High when I heard about what was happening here", Dirk said. "This tower used to belong to the most evil villain in all the realms, and I suspected that the monster here was one that she had summoned. Looks like I was right. This thing is from Wonderland."

"Excuse me? Wonderland?", Duncan was skeptical. "I thought that place was just in books and stories?"

"You weren't kidding when you said you were lost", Dirk smirked. "This is Ever After, the realm of myths and Fairy Tales. You said you had a hunch on how you got here?"

"Yeah", Duncan said. "I was helping the magick teacher at my school take down the ghost of a warlock. I must've been blasted through her magick mirror."

"I guess that makes sense", Dirk said. "Where were you when you arrived?"

"In there", Duncan jerked his thumb toward the tower.

"Also making sense", he said. "Let's take a look."

He tried the door, to find it locked.

"Yeah, I couldn't open it from the inside either", Duncan told him.

"So how did you get out?"

"Like this", he extended his wings. He then grabbed his new friend by the arms and flew up to the window.

"Impressive", Dirk said as they started looking around. "What exactly are you? If you don't mind me asking?"

"I suppose it's only fair to tell you", he replied. "My mom is human, and my dad is a kaiju; a giant monster, and in his case one that breathes fire like a dragon."

"Wow", Dirk said. "Was your mom attacked?"

"No! Strange as it sounds, they love each other", Duncan told him. "Plus, my conception was the first big step to ending the Human/Kaiju War in my world."

"Again, impressed", Dirk said. "And I think I found your portal."

Dirk was facing a cracked mirror. Duncan walked over and nodded.

"I think you're right", Duncan said. "So it's probably my best chance for going home as well."

"But it's damaged", Dirk said. "We should take it to Ever After High. Someone there might be able to fix it and help you get home."

The two rigged some ropes to more easily carry the mirror and went down the stairs.

"Since you said this place used to belong to a villain", Duncan smiled. "I have no problem doing… **this!** "

Duncan shattered the heavy wooden door off its hinges with a single punch. Dirk whistled his impressed approval.

"You are **really** strong", Dirk said. "You were holding back when we fought earlier, weren't you?"

Duncan shrugged. "Well, I didn't want to hurt you. Let's get going. I'm guessing you know the way?"

xxXXxx

Headmaster Grimm was talking with his brother Giles in his office when there was a knock on the door.

"Enter", Milton called out. Apple White opened the door and came in, followed by a lad who looked very much like her.

"Headmaster Grimm! I have the most spell-tacular news! My brother Arthur is here to enroll!"

"Ah, yes!", Milton smiled widely. "Mr. White! We've been expecting you! Please forgive me, Miss White, but your twin requested that we keep his impending arrival a secret so he could surprise you."

"That's quite alright", Apple smiled. "It's a wonderful surprise!"

"And it's good to finally be here", Arthur said. "Are my enrollment papers all in order? And is my class schedule ready?"

"Of course", Giles smiled.

"And your signing ceremony with the Storybook of Legends will be tomorrow", Milton beamed.

"Uh….great", Arthur said with a touch of uncertainty, as Giles handed him his class schedule. "Uh, Sis? Would you mind being my guide? Your friend kinda gives me the creeps."

"Of course, Brother-dear!", Apple giggled as they left.

"Oh, Giles", Milton said after they left. "It will be a **glorious** day when the son of our beloved Queen signs the Storybook of Legends! It might even begin to quell this unseemly 'Rebel' movement."

Giles merely stroked his beard in thought. He understood the **true** purpose of the Storybook better than his brother. But as the elder of the two, and Headmaster, Milton's opinions over-rode his.

xxXXxx

After retrieving Dirk's wheeled travel-trunk, he and Duncan began the long walk to Book End and Ever After High. During that time, they talked about their different worlds. Dirk filled him in on the pre-occupation with 'pre-ordained destiny'; forcing the children of prominent fairy-tale characters to re-live the stories of their parents and ancestors, and the current 'Rebel' movement by some to write their own "happily-ever-after's".

Duncan told him about himself, his family, and Monster High, and how everyone there was free to make their own choices, for good or bad(he told about Torq and his Horde as an example).

"So your 'ghoulfriend' is a **werewolf**?", Dirk asked. "Plus your human foster brother and another friend are dating monsters as well? I'm impressed! Something like that would be scandalous here….I like it!"

"Well, Clawdeen isn't just my ghoulfriend", Duncan smiled, showing Dirk the picture in the locket she had given him. "She's the Alpha of all werewolves and we are bonded as life-mates."

"She's beautiful", Dirk said, then smiled. "So that means you two are kinda like married, right?"

"I guess you could say that", Duncan chuckled. Then he sighed. "I hope I'm not stuck here long. I miss her already."

"Well, the outskirts of Book End are just ahead", Dirk said, as they began to pass small houses and entered a poorer section of town. "The school is on the other side of town."

They made their way through town quietly. A small commotion brought four teens about their age to their attention, as they played pranks and made basic nuisances of themselves. One was a long-haired girl with fangs and wolf-ears. Another was a tall, grey-skinned athletic ogre. Next was a fairy all dressed in dark-blue and long black & blue hair. The fourth was a young man in pirate garb(think cleanly dressed 'Jack Sparrow'-type) with a sheathed rapier and a basket-hilted hook hanging from his belt.

 _(Ramona Badwolf)_

 _They say I'm trouble, they say I'm bad_

 _They say I'm evil, and that makes me glad._

 _(Brutus Ogre)_

 _A dirty no-good, down to the bone_

 _Your worst nightmare, can't take me home._

 _(Faybelle Thorn)_

 _So I got some mischief in my blood_

 _Can you blame me? I never got no love._

 _(Hadrian Hook)_

 _They think I'm callous, a low-life hood_

 _I feel so useless, misunderstood!_

 _(RB + FT)_

 _Mirror, mirror on the wall_

 _Who's the baddest of them all?_

 _Welcome to my wicked world,_

 _Wicked world!_

 _(All four)_

 _I'm rotten to the core-core_

 _Rotten to the core!_

 _I'm rotten to the core-core_

 _Who could ask for more?_

 _I'm nothin' like the kid next_

 _Like the kid next door!_

 _I'm rotten to the core!_

The four went through a community laundry area, deliberately causing chaos and mis-haps

 _(RB)_

 _Call me a schemer, call me a freak_

 _How can you say that? I'm just unique._

 _(BO)_

 _What me a traitor? Ain't got your back?_

 _Are we not friends? What's up with that?_

 _(FT)_

 _So I'm a mis-fit, so I'm a flirt_

 _I broke yer heart? I made ya hurt?_

 _(HH)_

 _The past is past, forgive-forget_

 _The truth is, you ain't seen nothin' yet!_

 _(RB + FT)_

 _Mirror, mirror on the wall_

 _Who's the baddest of them all?_

 _Welcome to my wicked world,_

 _Wicked world!_

By now, other 'troubled kids' had gathered around them, the kind of kids who were likely to be minions; goblins, punks, even a few winged-monkees. They formed into a flash-mob, line-dancing with the future villains.

 _(All four)_

 _I'm rotten to the core-core_

 _Rotten to the core!_

 _I'm rotten to the core-core_

 _Who could ask for more?_

 _I'm nothin' like the kid next_

 _Like the kid next door!_

 _I'm rotten to the core!_

The four took notice of the new arrivals as their followers dispersed.

"Well, what have we here?", Ramona asked with wolfish grin.

Xxxxxx

 _( &-a wolf howls to blowing wind-&)_

 ** _Ramona Badwolf, Daughter of the Big Bad Wolf._**

Xxxxxx

"New students, maybe?", Brutus grinned.

Xxxxxx

 _( &-openning beats of 'Beat It' by Michael Jackson-&)_

 ** _Brutus Ogre, Son of the Great Ogre._**

Xxxxxx

"Yeah", Dirk said. "I'm Dirk Knight, Son of the Black Knight."

"My name is Duncan."

"Hmmmmm", Faybelle hummed appraisingly, trailing her fingers across both their chests. "They're both kinda cute."

Xxxxxx

 _( &-openning riff of 'Poison' by Alice Cooper-&)_

 ** _Faybelle Thorn, Daughter of the Dark Fairy_** **.**

Xxxxxx

"Please", Hadrian smirked. "I bet I could take either of them with just my hook."

Xxxxxx

 _( &-main theme of "Pirates of the Carribean"-&)_

 ** _Hadrian Hook, Son of Captain Hook._**

Xxxxxx

"Care to try your luck?", Duncan growled, flames in his mouth.

"Hey now, just chill", Ramona said. "We may be future villains and current trouble-makers, but we don't mess with fellow future villains."

"Who says we're villains?", Dirk scowled.

"Please!", Faybelle scoffed. "Your dad is the **_Black Knight!_** The greatest evil warrior who ever lived! And you(she looked at Duncan) are obviously some kind of monster. What else would you be but villains?"

"We have a choice", Dirk said. "Raven Queen proved that."

"*pfft!* Raven Queen!", Faybelle sneered, causing Dirk to tense up. "Sooner or later, she'll get with the program."

"Chill, Faybelle", Ramona said, then turned to the newcomers. "Ever After High is this way. I'm Ramona Badwolf. This is Brutus Ogre, Faybelle Thorn, and Hadrian Hook."

"Good to meet you", Duncan said cautiously, mindful that they were admitted future villains. "And thanks for showing us the way."

As they all walked together, Ramona smelled something.

"Duncan, why do I smell wolf on you?", she asked.

"My mate back home is a werewolf", he replied, as if it were no big deal. Ramona arched an eyebrow at this. While it was well known that Professor Badwolf was her dad, it was still a carefully guarded family secret that Red Riding Hood was her mom and that Cerise Hood was her sister.

Even Dirk had to admit to being impressed when they reached the school; a huge castle built up around a massive enchanted tree on top of a hill backed by a cliff-side. And from what his dad had told him, in the valley at the bottom of the cliff was the old Dragon Games arena and dragon stables.

"Here we are", Ramona said. "Catch you guys later. Just ask anyone and they can show you to Headmaster Grimm's office."

"Thanks", Dirk said as the four left.

Dirk and Duncan continued into the school, and Duncan marveled at how the architecture worked **with** the tree!

'Venus would **love** this!', he thought to himself.

"Hexcuse me", Dirk said to a couple walking together. The guy was wearing green and the right side of his brown hair was buzzed short, with the rest was swept over to the left; it kinda reminded Duncan of Venus' hair-style. The girl was a pretty strawberry-blonde. "My name is Dirk Knight, and my friend here is Duncan Rosenblatt. Could you please direct us to the Headmaster's office?"

"Hello", the girl said cheerfully. "I'm Ashelynn Ella and this is Hunter Huntsman."

"Hey", Hunter said with a smile. "I'll be happy to show you. See you later, Sweetie?"

"Of course", she smiled, giving him a peck on the cheek. He smiled a watched her leave, then turned to the newcomers.

"Right this way."

He led them inside and up to an ornate door and knocked. "Enter", a voice from within called.

"Hexcuse me, Headmaster Grimm", Hunter said as he entered, followed by Dirk and Duncan. "I think these two are new students."

"Ah! Thank you, Mr. Huntsman. You may go", The large man behind the desk said, and Hunter left. There was another, smaller bearded man wearing glasses in the office as well. "Welcome to Ever After High, gentlemen! I am Headmaster Milton Grimm, and this is my brother and assistant Headmaster; Professor Giles Grimm. Please, tell us who you are; full titles if you please?"

"I'm Sir Dirk Knight, Son of the Black Knight."

"Excellent!", Milton said. "Though we expected you to attend sooner?"

"My dad wanted to homeschool me a couple extra years before I came here", Dirk explained.

"Very well", Milton said. "Ironically, you are not the first new student today whose father chose to do so. In fact, it might be best if you roomed with young Prince Arthur White in the dorms. Please see to that, Giles?"

"Of course", the bearded man smiled. Then Milton turned to Duncan, "And you are?"

Duncan took a breath and let it out. The guy did ask for his name and full title.

"I am Prince Duncan Rosenblatt; Son of Belloc, King of the Kaiju. But I'm not a student. I'm a lost traveller in need of help."

Watching unseen through another mirror in the room from the mirror realm, the Evil Queen's interest was piqued by this stranger.

"Oh dear", Giles said genuinely. "A traveller from where? And how can we help?"

"I came through this magick mirror by accident from another realm", he said, placing it on the floor against the wall. "Can anyone here fix it and help me get home?"

"I believe the mirror can be magickally repaired, but it could take weeks", Milton said after taking a look. "After that we can see about getting you back to…?

"Oh! Sorry. I'm from Monster High."

Milton raised his eyebrows at this! He learned all about that realm when C.A. Cupid transferred here from there! A realm of free-choice and no pre-determined destinies. This boy **_cannot_** be allowed to stay at the school and influence students! Just talking about his home could lead others to turn from their destinies! But to deny him help would go against the school's moral code!

"We can help you, Mr. Rosenblatt, but until then you will have to stay in town, as only students are allowed to stay on campus", Milton told him.

"But….I have nothing but the clothes on my back", Duncan explained. "And walking through town today, I can tell everyone is too afraid of me to give me a job."

"Now, Brother, I don't see the harm in letting him stay", Giles said, guessing what his brother was thinking.

"Only students and their families can stay here, Giles!", Milton said firmly. "And only those who are in the Storybook of Legends can be students."

"And what if he **is** in the Book? You must admit his arrival here is… unusual to say the least. Fate could be involved here. I propose a compromise", Giles said. "We already have a signing ceremony planned for tomorrow evening for Arthur White. At that time time, Dirk and Duncan will also go before the Book. Dirk will most certainly be in the Book, and we will see then if Duncan is as well. Remember, Brother, the Storybook of Legends also contains many **_lost_** stories. Let Duncan stay here tonite, and if a key does not appear for him, we will help find him a place to stay at that time."

"Very well", Milton said, certain that Duncan would not be in the book. "That's fair enough. Just one last question, Mr. Rosenblatt?"

"Yes, sir?"

"What are 'kaiju'?"

xxXXxx

Arthur was searching through the school for a certain person. In the meantime, he had already received word that he would be rooming with another new student named Dirk Knight, and had met him briefly as they both unpacked in their dorm room. He seemed nice enough, despite the fact he was 'destined' to be a villain. But then again, so was… **there** she is!

He saw a flash of long, black and purple hair down the hall, heading for the entrance of the school. He hurried to catch up. As he stepped outside, he saw her, talking with his sister and a girl with aqua and magenta streaked hair wearing a small hat that looked like a tea-cup&saucer. Time seemed to slow, as he was overwhelmed by her beauty. She had only gotten **more** beautiful since he last saw her when they were children! He took a breath, steeled himself, and walked over.

Apple saw him first, and smiled.

"Arthur! All unpacked and settled in?", she asked, as the others turned to look at him.

"Yup, all set, Sis", he said, then he smiled shyly at Raven. "Hello, Raven. It's wonderful to see you again."

"I'm sorry, have we met?", Raven asked with a smile. "And since when do you have a brother, Apple?"

Both White siblings looked perplexed, and Arthur felt a pain in his heart. They both met Raven in nursery-rhyme school and knew her until the Evil Queen pulled her from spell-ementary school in the 4th grade.

"Arthur is my twin, Raven, you know that."

"We met a long time ago in school, Raven", Arthur tried to remind her. "For a long time, we were each other's only friend. We were….close."

"I'm sorry, I don't remember you", Raven said, looking confused.

"Please! Try to remember me, Raven", Arthur urged, getting a confused look from his sister. Why was this so important to him? Granted, Raven should remember, but still.

"I'm really sorry, but I don't know you", Raven said, starting to look uncomfortable. "Look, I gotta go. Good to meet you and…..we'll talk again soon." Raven then walked away. Arthur's heart sank.

"Hi there! I'm Maddie!", the bubbly girl with aqua and magenta hair said cheerfully, and a mouse poked his head out of her hat. "And this is Earl Grey! Join us for tea anytime!" She then rushed after Raven.

"Arthur? What was that all about?", Apple asked her twin.

"She should remember me, Apple", he said dejectedly.

"I know, but why are you so upset?"

"I don't think you would understand, Sis."

 _(BP) Whoa…back up. Did I miss something? Does Arthur have history with Raven? Sounds to me like he's in lo…._

 _(MN) Brooke! No spoilers! Be patient! You'll see soon enough._

 _(FN) And so will our readers. And why, exactly aren't you up to speed, young lady?_

 _(TP) Hate to say it, Sis, but if you'd done your homework, you would already know the back-story with them._

 _(BP) So I skipped the homework! I'm sorry! For now, let's get back to our dreamy visitor from Monster High._

 _(TP)*chuckle* Getting the 'hots' for the firebreathing newcomer huh, Sis?_

 _(BP)*grrrrrr* Hey, Turner?_

 _(TP) Yeah, Sis?_

 _*SLAP!*_

 _(TP) Ow!_

 _(MN+FN) Broooooooke!_

Duncan sat on the bed of the dorm room he was given in the boys dorm. He was alone, so he wouldn't bother anyone; but he had a feeling that the Headmaster just wanted to limit his exposure to the students for some reason. He got up and left the room to explore. He saw the library, the gymnasium, and auditorium. He waved cheerfully to students he passed. Then his stomach growled.

"Excuse me", he said to a brown-haired guy with glasses and a crown wearing a blue jacket. "Where can a guy who's new here get something to eat?"

"The castleteria", he smiled. "I'm heading there for dinner right now myself. Nice to meet you; I'm Dexter Charming."

"Duncan Rosenblatt", Duncan smiled, shaking his hand. "And thanks. I am really hungry."

The castleteria wasn't all that different from the creepteria back home; minus the more…..exotic menu items. Dexter got a roast turkey-leg, potatoes, salad, and cherry pie. Duncan grabbed a double cheeseburger, fries, and two pieces of cake. They sat down at an empty table, and Duncan breathed a small jet of flames on one of the cake slices, making Dexter flinch as he reduced it to charcoal. Dexter looked confused.

"I need to eat coal or charcoal with my food", Duncan explained with a shrug. "This is the easiest way to do it."

"Fair enough", Dexter smiled. "You'd probably love the chili here. **Very** **_spicy_**."

"Music to my ears", Duncan smirked.

C.A. Cupid had just gotten her dinner and was looking for a place to sit, and she saw her crush.

"Dexter", she sighed as she walked over. As she got closer, the guy sitting with Dexter started to look **very** familiar; Spiky, golden hair with red tips and highlights, claws, scaly skin, sleeveless biker jacket…..it couldn't be!

"Duncan?!", she gasped, making him turn around. His eyes widened in recognition.

"Cupid?!", he stood quickly and enveloped her in a hug. "Oh my ghoul! So **this** is where you went!"

"You two know each other?", Dexter asked.

"I know Duncan from my old school, Dexter", Cupid explained.

"Her advice helped me and my mate get together", Duncan added with a smile.

"You two already loved each other", she giggled. "I just gave you both a little nudge. How is Clawdeen? Is she with you? How did you get here?"

"Whoa! Slow down", Duncan chuckled. "I think I got here the same way you did, but by accident. Clawdeen and my family are probably worried sick about me. I came here because I heard someone here might be able to help me get home, but it's gonna take time."

"I'm sure Baba Yaga and the others will be able to help you get back home, Duncan", Cupid said reassuringly. "But right now, tell me everything that's happened since I left?"

xxXXxx

Raven Queen finished her dinner early so she could make her way to the high balcony known for it's great view of the sunset. Sometimes others, usually Dexter, would be there or show up as well. So she wasn't surprised when she heard someone walk out behind her.

"Hi, Raven."

She turned to see Arthur White approach, looking a combination of hopeful and depressed.

"Hi, Arthur", she said with a small smile. "Did you come to watch the sunset?"

"Yeah", he smiled. "But mostly I came to see you."

"Look, I'm really sorry but I don't remember you", she said. "And honestly, you and Apple are starting to make me uncomfortable insisting that I should." Raven started to leave.

"If you don't remember me, then maybe you'll remember **this** ", he said behind her. He started to whistle a tune, and Raven froze. She knew that tune! A fog was slowly clearing in her mind as Arthur began to sing:

 _I'll swim and sail on savage seas_

 _With ne'er fear of drowning_

 _And gladly ride the waves of life_

 _If you will marry me_

 _No scorching sun_

 _Nor freezing cold_

 _Will stop me on my journey_

 _If you will promise me your heart_

The memories burst forth like a flood: the other children shunning her out of fear; all except one blonde and blue-eyed boy who was bullied for being small, the quiet games they would play together, they got closer as they grew, along with their feelings over the years. They were all the other had. The fell in love the way children do, and sang together….

Raven picked up the song as if on cue, and turned to him as she started to sing:

 _And love me for eternity_

 _My dearest one_

 _My darling dear_

 _Your mighty words astound me_

 _But I've no need for mighty deeds_

 _When I feel your arms around me_

 _(Arthur)_

 _But I would bring you rings of gold_

 _I'd even sing you poetry_

 _And I would keep you from all harm_

 _If you would stay beside me_

 _(Raven)_

 _I have no use for rings of gold_

 _I care not for your poetry_

 _I only want your hand to hold_

 _I only want you near me_

(They take each other's hands and begin to dance together)

 _To love, to kiss, to sweetly hold_

 _For the dancing and the dreaming_

 _Through all my sorrows and delights_

 _I'll keep your love beside me_

 _I'll swim and sail on savage seas_

 _With ne'er fear of drowning_

 _And gladly ride the waves of life_

 _If you will marry me_

 _If you will marry me_

"Oh, Arthur!", Raven cried tearfully, embracing him. "How could I ever forget **you**?"

"I've missed you, Raven", he said, tears of joy in his eyes. He tilted her chin up to look into her beautiful violet eyes. "And I still love you after all this time."

"I love you, too, Arthur", she said with joy in her heart as she kissed him deeply.

Unseen or heard by the re-uniting couple, Dexter Charming stifled a sob; his heart shattered as he heard his crush profess her love to another. He ran toward his dorm room.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Whew! This was a long chapter! Fitting, as it kicks off my Ever After High arc! I hope you all like my OC's! And don't feel too bad for Dexter, he's gonna get some help from a new friend.**

 **Next Chapter will see show more from my OC's and Duncan and how they will fit in. Oh, and don't forget the STORYBOOK OF LEGENDS!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	57. Chapter 56

**_Hey, Everyone! More secrets will be revealed as Duncan and his new friends start to turn Ever After High on it's head! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 56

(Flashback, 4th Grade Spell-ementary school in Ever After)

"Raven, I made these", young Arthur said, showing her two small circles of braided grass.

"They're pretty, but what are they for?", young Raven asked.

"They're for us", he smiled lovingly. He slid one on her left ring-finger. "I love you, Raven. And with this, I promise to always love you and to marry you one day…..if you'll have me?"

Her eyes filled with tears of joy, and she smiled back at him. She took and slid the other ring on his left ring-finger and kissed him. "Yes! Yes, I will!"

That night, Raven was gazing lovingly at the grass ring on her finger when her mother entered her room. Surprised, the girl tried to hide it, but in doing so she had only drawn the Evil Queen's attention.

"Now-now, mustn't hide things from mommy, my little blackbird", she said, using her magick to make Raven reveal her hand….and the ring. "And what is this?"

"N-n-nothing, Mommy!", she said quickly.

"We'll see about that", her mother said, as she used her magick to 'feel' the ring and read Raven's mind. She scowled at what she saw.

"A gift of **_love_**? From **Arthur White?!** ", she hissed. "And you love him, too! This won't do! No, this won't do at all!"

"I-I can't change how I feel, Mommy!"

"Oh, but ** _I_** can!", she sneered, destroying the ring with a spark of magick. "I will make you **forget** he even existed! And you will be homeschooled from now on! You will **never** see him again! And you won't even miss him!", she laughed evilly.

"No, Mommy! Please! I LOVE HIM!", Raven cried as her mother's magick flared.

(End Flashback)

 _(BP) So Arthur White and Raven Queen fell in love when they were children, and he never forgot! That's sssooooo romantic!_

 _(FN) But a future hero and villain in love? That's_ _ **not**_ _the way the tale is told!_

 _(MN) They followed their true hearts! But the Evil Queen wouldn't stand for it. She wiped her own daughter's memory of any trace the boy she loved._

 _(TP) But it looks like true love broke through that fog in her memory, thanks to Arthur._

"My mother", Raven growled. "She found out about us, and made me forget you."

"She must've thought I was a threat to her plans to turn you evil", Arthur said. "That day was the last time I saw you until today."

"Well, she can't stop us from being together now", Raven smiled, then looked thoughtful. "But I think we should keep this quiet for now."

"Why?", Arthur asked, confused.

"Think about it; you and me….how do you think your sister, or Headmaster Grimm would react?"

"I guess you're right", he grudgingly agreed. "But sooner or later it will come out. And when it does, we will hold our heads high and own it, ok?"

"Ok", she smiled. "What about the Book? Are you going to sign tomorrow night?"

"Not if it means I can't be with you", he promised. "Nothing will ever separate us again if I can help it."

xxXXxx

Duncan and Cupid were still talking as they walked toward the dorms. She was impressed by all the adventures he and her other old friends had had since her departure, especially Duncan's close-call with a frozen grave the very night she left!

They were laughing together about Kala Mer'ri's hormone-driven chase to mate with him, when Dexter ran past them visibly upset.

"Dexter?", Cupid called out, clearly concerned. Dexter apparently did not hear her, as he kept running.

"I wonder what's up with him?", Duncan said. Then he looked at Cupid, and he saw it.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?", he smiled.

"Shhhhhhhh!", she shushed, then whispered, "Yes, I really like him. But he has a crush on Raven Queen."

"Cupid", he deadpanned, "I've been here less than a day. If **I've** noticed it, then you can bet **everyone** knows….except maybe Dexter."

"Is it that obvious?", she sighed. He gave her a smiling, deadpan look with an arched eyebrow.

"Tell you what", he said. "I'll try to find out what's bothering him, ok?"

"Thanks, Duncan", she said gratefully. "You're a good friend."

xxXXxx

Duncan knocked on the door. Hunter opened the door. Duncan could hear Dexter grunting through his tears.

"Is he ok?", Duncan asked his roommate.

"I don't know", Hunter said. "He's freakin' out about something. He won't talk to me."

"Let me try", Duncan suggested. Hunter let him in. Dexter was punching a wooden dummy that Hunter had for combat practice.

"Hey, Dexter", Duncan said. "Remember me? Duncan, the new guy here? You helped me out earlier. Let me return the favor. What's goin' on, my friend?"

Dexter grunted loudly as he threw one last hard punch at the dummy. His fists were bruised and bleeding, but the tears streaming down his face had nothing to do with his bloody knuckles.

"Raven loves someone else", he said dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, dude", Duncan said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I heard you had a crush on her. I know you're hurting. Just remember that you have friends who will help you through this. I'm one of them."

"Thanks", Dexter said genuinely. "But right now, I just want to be left alone."

"I hear ya. We're here for you when you need us. Just try to stop hitting things before you injure yourself, ok?"

"Sure."

Duncan turned to leave, and motioned for Hunter to come with.

"Well?", Cupid asked anxiously when Duncan and Hunter came out of the room.

"Apparently, Raven is in love with someone else, and he just found out somehow", Duncan told her.

"That's a harsh reality-check", Hunter said, shaking his head sympathetically.

"Poor Dexter", Cupid whispered, wishing her crush were not suffering so. "Should I …..?"

"No", Duncan said. "He needs to deal with it alone for now. Just be ready when he does need friends."

"Of course. You're right", she admitted, having given similar advice to others in the past. 'I guess my own feelings for him are clouding my judgement', she thought to herself.

xxXXxx

Duncan went back to his dorm room. Apparently, as a Prince, he was given a room with a large bed and no roommate; though he still suspected that the Headmaster just didn't want him around any students for too long, given that there **was** another bed in the room. Still, the room was nice, had a great view to the East, and the bed was comfortable. He opened his locket to gaze at the picture of Clawdeen, as well as feel and smell the lock of her hair within for a while before closing it to go to sleep.

xxXXxx

After breakfast, Duncan went to see Baba Yaga, the elder witch teacher who would be casting the repair spells on the mirror.

"At least two weeks? Maybe three?", he repeated after she told him her assessment.

"I'm afraid so, Duncan", she said. "Any faster could destroy the mystical properties of the mirror; erasing the imprint of the realm you came from or rendering it useless altogether."

"All right", he sighed, then thought of something else. "Are you able to contact other realms?"

"Some, yes", she said, then smiled when she caught on to what he was thinking. "You want to send a message, don't you?"

"If possible", he said hopefully. "Can you contact my realm? It's the same one Cupid came here from."

"Ah yes, Monster High, correct?", she said. "I do on occasion speak to Boodika Le Fey via crystal ball."

"That's great! Will you please tell her to let my family and friends—epecially my mate, Clawdeen—know that I'm ok, and give them the time-frame of my return? I would really appreciate it!"

"Of course I can, dear", she smiled. "I will make contact as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Madame Yaga!"

xxXXxx

Standing next to Dirk, Duncan blinked as he looked at the odd set-up in front him. It was an open field with obstacles on the campus about the size of a spookball field. It had a tall mock-up of a castle tower surrounded by a gated wall and a moat with a draw-bridge at one end. The tower also had a window overlooking the field, where Apple White was currently standing. Standing in the gate of the wall was Raven Queen, looking bored.

"Ok, what's all this?", Duncan asked.

"Heroics 101. Save the Damsel in Distress", Hunter groaned. "I know I'm supposed to fight villains to save and protect fair maidens, but sometimes this class can get just plain ridiculous."

"Did you say something, Huntsman?", King Charming scowled as he inspected the line of students clad in his royal robe, armor, and golden crown.

"No, King Charming", Hunter said quickly before shutting up. The King looked him, Duncan, and all the other boys over before getting back to teaching the class. When he looked at Dirk, the boy returned his gaze with a defiant glare, but said nothing.

"Now then. The object of this exercise is to defeat the minions, slay the monster, capture the villain, and rescue the damsel in distress in the least amount of time in that order", he said, then smirked. "Not that any of you will be able to beat my boy. Show them how it's done, Son!"

A boy with flawless skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a dashing smile stood at the start of the course, admiring his own reflection in a hand mirror as he posed in shining armor that fit him perfectly. "You got it, Dad!", he said as he put the mirror away and flashed a smile at all the watching, fawning girls in class. Then he picked up a sword and shield and struck a 'heroic' pose.

"Who is this prima donna?", Duncan whispered to his friends after face-palming at the blonde guy's antics.

"Daring Charming", Dirk replied with venomous sarcasm.

"Related to Dexter?", Duncan asked.

"His older brother", Hunter confirmed.

"Man, they are nothing alike", Duncan observed, just as Daring gave a 'charming' laugh and charged down the field. The magical field then conjured solid constructs of goblins all over the field who moved to stop him. Daring easily blocked every attack with his shield then swung his blade in a wide arc, decapitating more than half of them; causing them to vanish in puffs of smoke. Two more swipes and a stab finished the rest. Daring posed in victory and laughed.

He quickly moved on to the next challenge, as a large red dragon with massive wings, sharp claws, teeth and horns materialized between him and the moat. It reared up and roared.

"Ha-Ha! Fear not, fair maiden!", Daring yelled triumphantly. "I shall rescue you from yon tower upon defeating this savage beast!"

"Oh, thank you, Prince Charming!", Apple's melodious voice called happily from the tower.

Duncan face-palmed again. It was just so cheesy!

"Yeah. Come on, hero", Raven called out in a bored tone. "I dare you to stop me."

The dragon roared again and snapped it's jaws….a few feet away from Daring's face as he 'bravely' blocked a small burst of fire with his shield then thrust his sword at the dragon's exposed throat, making it vanish in a puff of smoke.

"Ha-Ha! They don't make dragon's like they used to!", Daring smiled charmingly as he charged across the bridge and held a bored Raven at swordpoint.

"Oh, no. You have me. I surrender", Raven droned sarcastically as she raised her hands over her head. Daring laughed snarkily and pulled a coil of rope from his armor to tie Raven up before setting aside his weapons to open the door to the tower. When he reached the window, he scooped Apple up in his arms bridal-style.

"And Time!", King Charming announced, stopping his pocket-watch. "Well done, Daring! You shaved four seconds off your previous record!"

"You gotta be kidding me!", Dirk scoffed. "This is a sham! The minions were wimps, the dragon barely moved, and the villain didn't even try to fight back—no offense, Raven?("None taken", she smiled.)—and he spent half his time just posing and flashing his smile rather than actually rescuing the princess!"

King Charming glared sternly at this upstart, who stood his ground under that harsh stare.

"And you think **you** can do better, Mr. Knight?", the King scoffed at the ridiculous notion.

"Oh, yeah!", Dirk barked angrily. "And I'll even do this whole course **without** a shield or armor!"

He pushed past the gasping students to reach the start of the course. Daring and Apple, having seen the whole exchange, shared looks with each other before coming down and untying Raven.

"Good job, Apple!", a woman in a blue gown and cone hat with blue netting said to the princess.

"Thank you, Mrs. Marion", Apple smiled gladly as she curtsied.

"Alright, Cerise! You're up as the damsel!", Lady Marion announced.

"Oh goodie", Cerise groaned as she separated from the group of girls and went to the tower.

King Charming scanned the group of students, and made his choice.

"Mr. Hook, you're up as villain", he called. Of all the future villains, Hook was the best swordsman and loved to fight. The pirate punched his fist into his hand with a smirk as he took his place on the bridge.

"And, go!", King Charming announced as he activated the magical field and his pocket-watch; he watched with a smirk as Dirk charged full-speed onto the field. Unlike with Daring and most of the other heroes, he increased the difficulty of the field and 'creatures', and removed the restraints on the guard dragon. The upstart villain would learn his place after a crushing defeat, he was sure of that!

Dirk charged the field as the minions spawned. This time, they were large orcs armed with tulwars and axes. As he ran, Dirk spun about in a deadly dance, quickly and efficiently taking out the minions as each came at him. After the last minion disappeared in a puff, Dirk dashed toward the bridge. When the red dragon materialized, Dirk did **not** slow down! The Dragon lunged viciously at him, barely missing as he slid feet-first under it and slashed it's soft under-belly! It 'poofed' away and Dirk rolled back to his feet and squared off with Hadrian Hook on the bridge. The pirate grinned as he held his rapier in his right hand and his hook in the other.

"You're not getting' past **me** , mate", Hook smirked, as he lashed out. It was a furious exchange of slash, parry, thrust, parry, slash…..they were both excellent swordsman. Then they locked blades, and Hook smirked. While their swords were engaged, he slashed with his hook…..only for it to be blocked by a short blade that sprang out from Dirk's sleeve! Caught by surprise, Hadrian was off-balance, enabling Dirk to kick him into the moat. He quickly retracted the blade and sheathed his sword and climbed the **_outside_** of the tower. He jumped in the window and scooped up an impressed Cerise.

"Time! And just what was that disgraceful display of yours?!", King Charming demanded, as Headmaster Grimm came up beside him.

"That was me winning this Challenge", Dirk smirked.

"No! Not at all!", Milton spouted. "You didn't even come close! No armor, no charismatic smile, and you're not even a prince or hero in the first place!"

Dirk jumped from the tower to the wall, and from the wall to the bridge. He then set Cerise down and helped hook out of the moat.

"And how exactly did I lose?", Dirk growled. "In what **possible** way did I fail? I beat the minions, slayed the dragon, defeated the villain, scaled the tower, and saved the 'damsel', too. And as an added bonus, I completely shattered Daring's record." He smirked on that last statement.

"Oh, really?", Grimm drawled, before turning to King Charming. "Your Majesty, what was Mr. Knight's time on the 'Save the Damsel in Distress' course?"

The king blinked and looked at his golden pocket-watch, and did a double-take, paling as he read the time. "One minute, twelve seconds."

"And what is my record, Dad?", Daring asked smugly, flashing his perfect smile.

King Charming, for the first time in his life looked worried and uncomfortable. "Um…..two minutes, seventeen seconds."

"That's right, two minutes and…. ** _WHAT?!"_** , Daring sputtered, and Headmaster Grimm was flabbergasted.

"Record, Daring? **What** record?!", Dirk smirked. "Don't you **_ever_** brag around me again until you can back it up with more than just a smile!"

"You are **not** a hero!", Grimm yelled. "And what was that concealed blade?"

"My Dad taught me everything he knew", Dirk said. "He had a friend be my other teacher; a Brotherhood Assassin! **He** gave me these", he extended and retracted the hidden blades on his arms.

Grimm was literally shaking with anger. "Your time is null and void! Daring's record stands!"

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!", someone yelled.

Everyone turned to see Duncan stride onto the field.

"Dirk _**won**_ , fair and square!", he said, defending his friend. "If Daring wants his record back, let him **earn** it, just like Dirk did!"

"Need I remind you, Prince Duncan", Grimm said in as calm a tone as he could, "you are only an **observer** here. And this is none of your concern."

"Dirk is my friend, that makes it my concern. But I'll tell you what", Duncan said with a sly smile. "You crank the course difficulty up to maximum and I'll run it with no armor or weapons. And if I beat Daring's time, Dirk's stands as the new record, ignoring my time. Sound fair?"

The students all clamored in favor of this, wanting to see Duncan in action.

"Very well, Mr. Rosenblatt", Grimm said, nodding sharply to King Charming.

Duncan turned full kaiju as he strode to the starting line. Rosabella Beauty was chosen to be his damsel, and King Charming chose the hulking Brutus Ogre to act as the villain.

"Ready? Go!", King Charming yelled as he started his watch.

Duncan charged onto the field as dozens of stone golems appeared to attack him. He grinned as he smashed through them without slowing using a combination of brute strength and martial arts moves. When he smashed the last one without breaking stride, the 'boss monster' appeared. King Charming had chosen something new trying to gain an advantage. Seeing that Duncan was a reptile, he chose an ice monster. It appeared and fired a blast of cold at Duncan, who blocked with his forearms. The blast still encased him in a block of ice. Both Grimm and Charming thought he was done, until the block started to crack…..then explode! Duncan then blasted the monster with a powerful stream of fire, destroying it.

Brutus was quaking in fear as Duncan bore down on him. The prince shot a fireball at his feet, causing the ogre to jump off the bridge into the moat. Duncan then extended his wings and flew up to 'rescue the princess', Rosabella blushed as he took her in his arms and glided to the ground.

"Time!", Charming called out. He looked at his watch and slumped. "One minute thirty-two seconds."

Daring sputtered and fainted, and Milton Grimm was infuriated beyond words.

"Dirk Knight's time stands as the new course record. Class dismissed", King Charming said dejectedly.

"Nice job, tough-guy", Cerise said to Dirk as they walked back to the group, and they were joined by Duncan. "Both of you. Daring's needed to be taken down a notch forever after."

"Thanks", they both said.

"That was spelltacular, guys", Raven said as she high-fived Cerise.

"Guys, this is one of my fairy best friends; Raven Queen", Cerise said.

"Nice to meet you, Duncan, Dirk", Raven smiled.

"Right back at you", Duncan smiled, kissing her hand.

"It's good to finally meet you, too", Dirk smiled warmly. "Sis."

"Wha….?!", Raven gasped.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: What a bomb-spell! Dirk is Raven's** ** _brother?!_** **How is that possible? Find out next Chapter! LOL!**

 **I must give credit to Creaturemaster for the 'Save the Damsel in Distress' scene, as I took his and run with it and expanded it a little!**

 **And, yes, I threw a little Assassin's Creed Easter egg in there, too!(I do not own Assassin's Creed!)**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	58. Chapter 57

**_Hey, Everyone! More secrets revealed and hints at things to come! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 57

 _(BP) What a bomb-spell! Dirk Knight is the_ _ **brother**_ _of Raven Queen?! How can that be?_

 _(MN) I think we're about to find out. Either way, I think this could change things at Ever After High for the better._

 _(FN) Or for the worse._

 _(TP) Let's find out as the scene unfolds._

"I think you better explain", a bewildered Raven said.

"Indeed", Headmaster Grimm said gravely.

"You are my younger sister, Raven", Dirk smiled warmly.

"Wait a schoodle!", Maddie said then shook her head vigorously. "Your dad is the Black Knight! So how can Raven be your sister?"

"Simple", he said. "The Evil Queen…..is my mother."

Everyone gasped at this revelation. Dirk explained further:

"My father was her chief warrior; the leader of her minions. They were also lovers, and I was born. Not long after, she met your father and followed her "destiny", leaving me to be raised by my father alone. You were born about a year after me."

"My mother", Raven groaned. "Why did she never tell me about you?"

"My guess, to preserve hers and your 'destinies'. I wanted to find you a long time ago, but Dad feared for my safety", he said whistfully. "He loved her, and when she left it broke his heart, but he understood her reasons. He was afraid if I sought you out, that she might do something drastic to preserve the path she set for you. He never thought she would harm me, but he feared she might lock me up, take away my voice, put a sleeping curse on me, or wipe my memory."

Raven stiffened at hearing that last part; remembering what her mother had done to her. Then she looked intently at Dirk, and she saw it: the same black & purple hair and the same purple eyes that she saw everyday in the mirror. And deep in those eyes, she saw truth.

"So you really are my…."

"Older half-brother", he finished and offered her a brotherly hug. She happily accepted, squeezing her brother tight. She has a brother! She thought she was alone in the world, and not only had the boy she loved returned, but she now had a brother!

xxXXxx

By lunchtime, thanks to Blondie Lockes and her Mirror-net broadcast, the whole school knew about everything that had transpired at the Heroics 101 course: Daring's record being broken…twice!, Duncan's ability to change form, and biggest of all that Dirk Knight and Raven Queen were half-siblings!

"Dirk? One thing I don't get", Duncan said as they all sat at lunch. "You're my friend, that's why I backed you out there. But I got the impression that you have an axe the grind with Daring?"

"More like the entire Charming family", Dirk said venomously. "My dad is the **greatest** warrior who ever lived. But because he was branded a 'villain' and 'destined' to serve other villains as well, 'destiny' demanded that he lose to various Prince Charmings and 'white knights' over and over again! And honestly, that pisses me off."

"I see your point", Duncan said.

"It must've been hard for you", Raven said compassionately.

"Dirk Knight, please report to the Headmaster's office", the school P.A. system announced.

"Me?", he said.

"Yes, you", the P.A. said, getting a deadpan look from him.

"Better not keep him waiting", Cerise said.

"Yeah, you're right", he said as he stood to leave. "He's probably still steamed about this morning, when I totally out-shined his 'star' student. We'll talk more later, ok, Raven?"

"Sure thing", she smiled.

He gulped down the last of his drink and threw the cup away on his way out of the castleteria. As he walked through the halls toward Grimm's office, he smiled thinking about all the good things that have happened in just the past 24 hours; he made some new friends, finally met his sister, and totally showed up the most vain and arrogant Charming of all! So engrossed in his thoughts was he, that he bumped into someone as he turned the last corner.

"I'm sorry, my bad. Are you…o….k….?", he started to stammer as he helped her up. She was **beautiful** : baby-blue eyes to match her dress, full pink lips, flawless skin, armor-plates on the shoulders of her dress, and luxuriously long platinum-blonde hair.

"That's alright", she said. Her voice was as beautiful as she was! "It's my fault, too. I should have been watching where I was going. Are you ok?"

"Uh….yeah! yeah, I'm fine", he said sheepishly. "I'm Dirk Knight."

"So **_you're_** the one who gave my brother a lesson in humility today", she giggled. "Good job! It's about time someone did!"

"Your brother?"

"I'm Darling Charming", she smiled. "Daring is my older brother."

"You're a **Charming?!** ", Dirk was incredulous.

"Yes", she said. "Trust me, my twin Dexter and I are nothing like him. But he's our brother, so we still love him."

"I…I gotta go", Dirk said, almost tripping over himself as he left. "Headmaster's office…you know."

"Nice meeting you!", she called after him. "See you again soon!"

He continued down the hall, his thoughts in disarray. She's so beautiful and sweet, and judging by how she carries herself; she's a **fighter** , **not** the typical damsel in distress! Everything about her made his heart flutter and pound! But she's a **Charming!** The family that forced a lifetime of humiliation on his father!

'I'll deal with this later', he thought to himself as he knocked on the Headmaster's office door.

"Enter" was the response. He went inside, and saw Grimm gazing out his windows.

"You wanted to see me, Headmaster?", he asked, then with a small edge of defiance, "If it's about this morning, I have no regrets and would do it again in a heartbeat."

"No, dear boy. This is something else entirely", Grimm said amicably. "After what transpired, I decided to check the mystical fairy-tale family-tree records, to confirm your claim. You **are** the half-brother of Raven Queen."

"Yes, I already know that", Dirk said suspiciously.

Grimm turned to face him.

"As you know, this evening Arthur White, Duncan Rosenblatt, and yourself will go before the Storybook of Legends in a signing ceremony", Grimm said. "I have no doubt that Arthur will sign, and Duncan cannot possibly even be in the Book. But you….. **you** have an opportunity to help re-set destiny on it's proper course."

"What are you getting at?", Dirk asked, still suspicious.

"You are a **knight**. So I appeal to your sense of duty", Grimm said seriously. "You **must** sign the Storybook of Legends."

 ** _"What?!"_**

"When your sister refused to sign, and started this dangerous 'Rebel' movement; she endangered our entire world", the Headmaster continued. "But if **you** , her own **brother** , were to sign; perhaps that would help convince her to embrace her destiny and sign as well."

Unknown to them both, the Evil Queen was watching from the mirror-realm with great interest.

'My son has grown into a strong and handsome young man', she said to herself with pride. 'And it seems that he enjoys defeating—even **humiliating** —his enemies! Perhaps, my dear Dirk, **you** can help steer Raven on the path of evil.'

"I make no promises, Headmaster Grimm", Dirk stifled a growl. "But I will consider what you've said."

"Fair enough, my boy", Grimm smiled. "Off you go. Your next class has started."

xxXXxx

 _(MN) That evening, the entire school had gathered to witness the Legacy Ceremony, to see if Arthur White and Dirk Knight would sign, pledging to follow in the fairy-tale foot-steps of their parents._

 _(FN) Which they'd better, or else._

 _(MN) Again with that?! Who's telling this story anyway?_

 _(BP) And don't forget, we're also going to see if_ _ **Duncan**_ _is in the Book, too!_

 _(TP) An unlikely scenario, but you're right, Sis. Let's see what happens._

"So this 'ceremony' is a big deal, huh?", Duncan said, feeling out of place next to his friends who were dressed in their finest.

"Yeah", Arthur said, adjusting his crown. "The Storybook of Legends contains all the great fairy tales of our ancestors. Each of us who are descended from them have a page that lays out our pre-determined destiny. By signing it, we pledge to honor and live out that destiny."

"For better or worse", Dirk grumbled. "My sister was the first to openly oppose this and refuse to sign. Now, a lot of others want to write their own 'Happily-Ever-Afters', and Headmaster Grimm views this movement as dangerous to the existence of our world."

"Oh yeah", Duncan said. "That ancient giant dragon, 'Diagon', that got sealed away by the magick of the stories you told me about."

"The whole school is gathered down there", Arthur said nervously.

"Why are **you** nervous?", Duncan chuckled. "I'm the one that has to go out there in my normal clothes for nothing."

"You **could** fully transform and extend your wings, Duncan", Dirk suggested. "Lemme tell ya, you look really impressive like that. And your horns **do** almost look like a crown."

"Thanks, Dirk", Duncan smiled as he went full kaiju and extended his wings. For added effect, he hooked the 'thumb' claws of his wings together around his neck; giving the illusion of wearing a red-orange cloak. "That **does** make me feel a bit better."

"Students! Faculty! And Visitors!", Headmaster Grimm announced loudly from the podium. "This evening, we have new arrivals at Ever After High who are ready to take the pledge to follow their destinies. First, we have Arthur White."

Arthur took a gulp and a breath and stepped up to the Storybook of Legends on the podium as Grimm stepped aside. Everyone was cheering….except Raven, who locked eyes with Arthur. He nodded slightly to her, and she returned it just as subtly…..only Madeline Hatter noticed. A key magickally appeared and dropped into his hand. It was gold trimmed with rubies, the grip-tab was shaped like a crown, and the blade shaped like the shield of a crusader and inscribed with an 'EA'. He inserted the key into the Book's lock and turned it, causing the image of a crown to appear in the center of the cover just before the Book to opened to his page. Images from the Book appeared on the four large mirrors floating above the stage, and the smaller one that appeared in front of him. Images of him on adventures, receiving accolades, holding hands and dancing with a princess, and finally ruling a kingdom alongside that princess…..except her face was never visible! He relaxed and let out the breath he was holding. He nodded slightly again to Raven, who smiled. And again Maddie was the only one who noticed, making her giggle knowingly!

"I am Arthur White, Son of Snow White", he declared. "And I am ready to pledge my destiny!"

Arthur and Raven weren't the only ones to notice that the identity of his princess was unclear. Duchess Swann began scheming to make Arthur hers, so she could get a Happily-Ever-After!

A white feather quill appeared, which he took and signed the Book. The Book magickally closed and locked again as he stepped away, waving to the cheering crowd.

"Next, we have Dirk Knight", Grimm announced, as lightning crashed behind them. Dirk strode up to the podium with confidence. The Rebels in the crowd waited with baited breath. A key appeared and dropped into his hand. It was silver and black, trimmed with purple gems, the grip-tab was shaped like a black knight's helmet, and the blades were shaped like a double-bladed battle-axe and inscribed with an 'E' on one and an 'A' on the other. When he inserted it in the lock, the image of a black knight's helmet appeared in the center of the cover just before the Book opened. Images were again shown on the mirrors. Him terrorizing townsfolk, kidnapping princesses, being defeated at different times by Daring, Dexter, and Hunter, and finally being chained in a dungeon by Daring. Each image made his blood boil even more than the last!

A black feather quill appeared.

"I am Dirk Knight, Son of the Black Knight!", he announced. "And I'm going to write my own destiny! My redemption of my family name starts **now!** "

With that, he slammed the Book shut without signing it! Had the mirrors not been magickally reinforced, they would have shattered, as they did when Raven refused to sign! All the Rebels cheered loudly as the Royals gasped. Dirk winked at his sister, who smiled back. Headmaster Grimm was furious! He was about to speak sternly to Dirk as he walked away, when the boy turned sharply on him.

"You didn't **really** think I would go against my own **_sister_** , did you?", he smirked. "Not only that, but my father **regretted** his life as a villain and wanted better for me. When we heard what my sister had done, I promised him I would do the same!"

Grimm stood sputtering for a moment as Dirk walked away, then went back to the podium.

"*ahem* Next, we have a visitor to our world, whose chance arrival **_may_** have been an act of Fate", Grimm announced dutifully, although still positive there was **_no_** chance he was in the Book. Once that was proved true, Grimm could get him out of the school and away from the students before more damage was done! "Duncan Rosenblatt."

Duncan walked up to the podium with all the confidence he could muster. Like Grimm, he was sure this was an exercise in futility. Still, he would announce himself with pride.

"I am Duncan Rosenblatt, Son of Belloc; King of the Kaiju."

Unfortunately for Headmaster Grimm, and to the shock of everyone, including Duncan; a key **_did_** appear for him in a magickal flash of fire! It was gold trimmed with rubies, the grip-tab was shaped like Belloc's face, and the blade was shaped like flames and inscribed with an 'EA'. It dropped into Duncan's hand. He swallowed his shock, and inserted the key into the lock, causing a 'fire' symbol to appear in the center of the cover just before the Book opened. The four floating mirrors drifted closer together, as if to form a single, large screen. Images of Duncan alongside Clawdeen facing threats he remembered from home appeared. Then images of him and Clawdeen alongside his new friends here in Ever After, struggling against a shadowed figure, then the two of them poised for battle at the head of all their friends and family back home. The wide image then rotated to show what they were facing; first a massive 'sky-ship' filled with silver &crystal knights being commanded by a large shadowed figure who appeared to be made of dark living crystal. Beyond that, was a group of monster villains; a few of whom he knew, and backed by the huge vague figure of an unknown kaiju. And finally beyond them, was a veritable **army** of **_nightmarish_** creatures of various chaotic forms backed by several larger, horrible beings of various types, and above all a gigantic, tentacled and bat-winged giant in shadow with glowing red eyes!

As each threat was shown, gasps spread through the crowd. Chills went down everyone's spine and the Headmaster watched in disbelief as the two sides charged each other! The images came to a swift and sudden halt just before the two sides clashed, when a huge clap of thunder sounded and a gust of wind blew the book shut once more!

"Whoa", Duncan said as the gravity of the destiny the Storybook of Legends showed began to truly sink in.

"*ahem* Well, Brother", Giles said nervously to Milton. "It would seem that Prince Duncan **_is_** in the Storybook of Legends. Thus, he can remain here while the mirror is repaired. You may even attend classes if you wish to, your Highness."

"Uh….Thanks", Duncan said, still in awe. "I think I will. It might pass the time faster."

xxXXxx

(Monster High)

Clawdeen was totally stressing. Duncan was missing for two days thus far, lost somewhere in the realms. His family was as worried as she was, but it was different for her. Since they were bonded as life-mates, she felt somehow….incomplete without him…..as if a part of herself was missing. But still, deep down, she was sure he was alive.

She had received a text from Ms. Le Fey to come to her classroom after school. Clawdeen hoped it was good news. She knocked then entered the classroom.

"Ah, Clawdeen", the elder witch greeted her cheerfully. "Thank you for coming so promptly! I have news!"

"Is it Duncan?", the werewolf asked urgently. "Is he ok?"

"Yes", Boodika said with a smile. "I was searching the realms in my crystal ball today, when an old friend made contact with me. He is in her realm! He is fine and already working on getting home with her help!"

"That is clawesome news!", Clawdeen howled. "Where is he and when will he be home?"

"That's the…..sticky part", Boodika slumped slightly. "The mirror he came through on their end was damaged as badly as mine. It will take at least two weeks to repair both before attempting a return trip safely, possibly a bit longer. But he's not alone. He is in Ever After; the realm of fairy-tales that Cupid went to. So he has at least one old friend and has made many new ones to help him through this ordeal."

"Two weeks? Maybe more?", Clawdeen groaned. "Ugh! I miss him so much! But at least he's ok. Thanks, Ms. Le Fey."

xxXXxx

(Ever After)

"I gotta shop for some more clothes", Duncan said to himself as he pulled on his boxer-briefs and t-shirt. After the rather eventful evening, he thought it wise to wash them by hand in his bathroom sink and let them dry overnight. He wanted to look fresh and clean, as Blondie had requested an interview for today on her mirror-net broadcast. She did short interviews and segments with Arthur and Dirk already, but apparently Duncan was the talk of the school!

He shrugged on his sleeveless biker jacket, flipping the collar up, and opened his door to go to breakfast. He stopped short when he saw Giles Grimm poised to knock.

"Ah, Duncan", he said cheerfully. "Good Morning! I was hoping to catch you! Here is your class schedule, as you requested. And I was wondering if I could join you for your lunchtime interview with Ms. Lockes?"

"Thanks", he replied as he took the schedule. "And I don't see why not. But just out of curiosity, why do you want to be there?"

"I have been up most of the night in the Vault of Lost Tales", Giles explained. "And I believe I have found your connection to our world! A connection that I believe is important for **all** to know. I want to reveal it in a way that my brother cannot stop. I love my brother, but he can be a bit…..rigid in his opinions."

"No, really?", Duncan smiled sarcastically. "I never would've guessed."

Giles laughed. Then he looked about to ensure they were alone as they walked toward the castleteria.

"You might also suggest to Arthur and Dirk that they ask their sisters to bring the three of you to Heritage Hall sometime soon", he winked.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes:** **So what do you all think of Duncan's destiny in the Storybook of Legends? Pretty epic, huh? There are hints at the two sequels I intend to write in there! I must give a shout-out to my friend Creaturemaster for inspiring the Book scene.**

 **The idea of Duncan 'cloaking' his wings is from Disney's "Gargoyles"!**

 **What is Duncan's connection to Ever After? And what could be waiting for our heroes in Heritage Hall? Wait and see! LOL!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	59. Chapter 58

**_Hey, Everyone! A little fluff and some major set-up for later. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 58

Blondie bit her lip as she paced around her studio, scrolling through the notes she'd made on her Mirrorpad, hoping to hex that she would remember to touch on all the key points and ask all the important questions that she—and her audience, no doubt—were wondering. This was probably going to be the most important show she was about to report to the student body of Ever After High in her entire career; she just hoped nothing would go wrong.

Professor Giles Grimm entered the studio with a smile.

"Professor", Blondie greeted him with a smile. "Are you here to watch the show?"

"Actually, my dear, I'm here to take part, if you don't mind?", he smiled. "Late last night in the Vault of Lost Tales, I believe I discovered Duncan's link to our world, and hence his inclusion in the Storybook of Legends."

"That is hexcellent news!", Blondie said. "Of course you can join us!"

Giles smiled as he sat in the second chair that was hastily brought out for him.

"Are you alright, Blondie?", Dexter asked with concern as he adjusted the camera, getting a quick 'thumbs-up' from Humphrey Dumpty, their top-tech. Dexter was still heart-broken and hurting, but he was determined to keep living up to his responsibilities.

"Yes…yes, I'm fine, Dexter", she took a deep breath. "I'm just a bit nervous."

"You? Nervous?" Dexter blinked. The very notion was ridiculous.

"I know, right?", Blondie giggled. "It's just…..this is the high point of my journalistic career. I've never reported a story so…. **big** before."

"If you think this is big, you should see my dad."

The small news crew turned to see a smiling Duncan enter the studio. "I hope I'm not late?"

"Right on time, actually", Blondie smiled as she directed him to a waiting chair next to her reporting desk, and right next to Professor Grimm.

"That's good. Let's do this", he said. "I haven't had lunch yet, and I'm hungry."

Blondie took her place behind her desk, while Dexter made final adjustments to the cameras. "And we're live in 5, 4, 3, 2….."

"Good afternoon, Ever After High!", Blondie began cheerfully. "We're coming to you live from our studio with a special report! Now I'm sure everyone ever after has heard about our newest student and you are all simply dying to know more about him. So I've taken the liberty of securing an interview with him. Also joining us is Professor Giles Grimm with more insight. Please give a warm welcome to Prince Duncan Rosenblatt!"

In the castleteria, Apple and Raven were sitting with their brothers and friends as they watched on the large mirror-screen.

"Ooh, I cannot tell a lie! He is so hot!", Cedar gushed excitedly.

"Yeah, hot as dragon fire—literally!", Cerise said.

"He's totally hat-tastic!", Maddie giggled.

"Mmmmm….he **is** the cat's meow", Kitty purred.

"Professor Grimm, let's start with you", Blondie said. "Just before our broadcast, you said that you may have found Duncan's link to our world. Care to elaborate?"

"Certainly", he smiled. "Duncan, are you familiar with the name 'Draxus'?"

"He's one of my ancestors", Duncan said raising his eye-brows in shock. "He was King of the Kaijus a few thousand years ago, and he saved my whole world from a terrible threat."

"Well, it seems he also saved **our** world once", Giles said. "In the Vault of Lost Tales, I found the story of the time Ever After was invaded by the giants. They had been influenced by Diagon, in his hope that they would destroy Ever After and it's magick, thereby freeing him. The greatest witches and wizards at the time cast a mighty spell to summon a savior. The spell brought a gigantic talking dragon named Draxus. Bigger and more powerful than the giants, he drove them back to the Beanstalk Kingdom. Not long after, Draxus was sent home with the gratitude of all Ever After."

"Wow", Duncan smiled. "I'll have to include that story the next time I have to do a scare-itage report."

"Impressive!", Blondie said. "And it does kinda explain how you are in the Storybook of Legends, Duncan. But now, there are lots of things we all want to know about you."

"Sure. What do you want to know?", he smiled.

"Well, first of all, what are 'kaijus'?"

"Well, Blondie, in my world Kaijus are giant monsters—even bigger than the giants here—and they come in many shapes and types. In the case of my family line, firebreathers that have a common ancestor with dragons."

"But you're not a giant", she pointed out. "You're our size."

"That's because my mother is human", he explained, and went on to explain how his parents met and fell in love.

"A human in love with a monster?", Blondie said, confused how that could be.

"Sure. My human foster brother is dating one of my monster classmates", he showed a picture from his phone of Kenny with Frankie, the flipped to one of Chad a Jinafire. "So is my friend, Chad. You see, in my world we're free to love who we love. Granted, monster/human relationships aren't common, but they do happen. Any other questions?"

"Well, there's really no use in rereading the chapter", Blondie smiled sheepishly as she pulled images up on the screen from the destiny presentation. "I'm sure everyone ever after is curious. Your destiny…..it's quite unlike anything we've ever seen."

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I can tell you who everyone is that I know."

"Ok, let's start with….her", Blondie smiled, showing a picture of Clawdeen. Duncan smiled warmly.

"Clawdeen Wolf."

"You two appear….close?", Blondie winked. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"She's so much more than that", he smiled. "We're bonded as life-mates, a bond that goes deeper than love, deeper than physical intimacy. Our hearts and souls are...one(a collective groan/sigh came from many of the girls watching). She's also the Alpha of all my world's werewolves."

"I think you make the perfect couple", Blondie smiled. "Not too this, not too that…..just right!"

"Thanks", he grinned. "I miss her terribly."

They went through all of his friends and allies, telling who they were and identifying the couples among them. Then they came to the threats they already defeated and will face in the future.

"I honestly don't know about most of the major stuff to come", he said. "But I'll tell you those that I do know."

An image came up.

"The Kaijus I fought in the past; Abbadon and Astoroth. I killed Astoroth last time, after my first girlfriend died in my arms because of him."

"I'm so sorry", Blondie said sadly.

"It's ok", hs said. "I've come to terms with it. Besides, she kinda gave Fate a nudge from beyond, bringing me and Clawdeen together."

*flip*

"Torq and his 'Horde'. I fought them twice, the second time with Clawdeen by my side. Their own community exiled them for their crimes."

*flip* "He looks scarier than Professor Badwolf!", Blondie said.

"Remus Darkclaw", Duncan said darkly. "A very powerful werewolf who went ballistic when Clawdeen was chosen over him to become Alpha. He challenged her before she received her full powers, so she chose me to fight in her place as her champion. It was a tough fight, but I won."

*flip* "And her?"

"Vanna Pirella. She tried to turn my foster brother into her eternal vampire mate", he told her. "Kenny and Frankie actually prevented that themselves, but I and a few others helped them escape."

*flip* "And who or what is this?"

"A yeti named Argost. He tried to murder my friend Abby to steal her powers. I had him beat until he somehow infected me with ice on the inside. Clawdeen finished what I started, but I was nearly killed. I spent nearly a week unconscious in a hot-spring."

It went on a few more minutes: the Gremlins on the train, the griffins and manticore, and Moanica D'Kay and her Zomboy army. The rest he had no knowledge of.

"We're almost out of time, so I'd like to ask you just one more question, please: which side of Royal/Rebel conflict are you on?", the Daughter of Goldie Lockes asked.

"Well, I haven't been here long enough to completely understand what's going on", Duncan said honestly. "But based on what I've heard from my friends, I'd say I'm….", he hesitated; whether it was for dramatic effect or because he was nervous, the entire castleteria seemed to be waiting with baited breath.

"I'm more of a Rebel", he finished; a rousing cheer came from the many Rebels, their whoops of joy and applause echoing through the school as the Royals shared nervous looks with each other. "I come from a world where freedom of choice is the norm. And until it's been proven that not following your 'destiny' is bad or dangerous, then I think it's wrong to force people into roles they don't want to play."

"Well, That's all for now, everyone! Until next time, I'm Blondie Lockes with all the Ever After High news that's just right!"

xxXXxx

 _(FN) Duncan's mere presence is turning Ever After High on it's head!_

 _(MN) Yes, and I think it's a good thing…a fairy good thing!_

"Will you two stop fighting!", Madeline Hatter admonished. "Peas and crackers!"

 _(MN) I forgot she could hear us._

"Come on, Raven", Maddie cajoled. "What's the hatter?"

"It's…..personal, Maddie", she said as they walked to class.

"Is it about you and Apple's brother being in love?", the Daughter of the Mad Hatter grinned.

"How did you….?", Raven gaped.

"Hey, I'm your best friend forever after", she giggled. "I see how you two look at each other!"

"Please, Maddie", Raven whispered urgently. "We have to keep it secret for now, ok?"

"Okie-dokie!", she giggled then hugged her friend. "But for now just let me say: Yay-yay-yay for you!"

xxXXxx

Duncan had already told Dirk about what Giles said about a place called 'Heritage Hall' and he said he would ask Raven. Now Duncan was in 'Good Kingdom Management' class with Arthur and Apple. After the initial lecture, they were given a class assignment to work on for the rest of the period. The students broke into small study groups to work. Duncan approached the twins.

"Hey, you two", he smiled. "May I join you?"

"Sure, Duncan", Apple said cheerfully.

"Pull up a chair", Arthur smirked.

"Thanks", Duncan said as he sat down. They chatted as they worked. They finished with time to spare, so Duncan thought he'd bring it up.

"Apple, this morning Professor Grimm suggested I ask you and Raven to bring us three new guys to a place called Heritage Hall", Duncan explained.

"Heritage Hall?", Arthur echoed. "I thought it only appears during Thronecoming?"

"Well, Raven and I recently found out that it's **always** there", Apple explained. "It's just that it only stays visible all through Thronecoming. But it also becomes visible for about an hour every evening the rest of the time; usually the hour before the sunset. Giles must know that there are treasures there for you three!"

"I can't imagine what could possibly be there for **me** ", Duncan said. "But there's no time like the present. Let's coordinate with Raven and Dirk to go this evening."

"Sounds good to me", Arthur smiled, curious as to what could be waiting there for him. "Sis?"

"Sure!"

xxXXxx

That evening in the woods just East of the school, the sun was beginning to set behind the clock-tower, and Heritage Hall appeared in front of Apple, Arthur, Raven, Dirk, and Duncan.

"Ok, now **that** is cool!", Duncan said as they entered. At the far end of the Hall was a huge copy of the Storybook of Legends. Along the walls on each side were shallow alcoves, each below a stain-glass window and had a pedestal to hold items.

"From what I understand", Raven said. "Whenever students enter, any alcove containing a treasure intended for them will appear. So just look around, guys."

"I think I found mine", Arthur said, stepping up to a pedestal overseen by a stain-glass representation of his father mounted on a white horse. Waiting on the pedestal was a finely made crusader's shield.

"Dad's Shield of Virtue", he said breathlessly. "Enchanted to withstand any attack, even the darkest of magicks."

"That's great, Arthur!", Apple exclaimed.

Dirk found a sheathed sword on the pedestal in front of a glass representation of his father in his full Black Knight armor.

"Why would Dad leave this for me? I already have a….", then gasped as he pulled it from it's scabbard, revealing a razor sharp blade as black as the deepest unlit pit of hell! "My father's Ebony Blade! So **this** is where he left it!"

"Whoa!", Raven breathed. She knew the all about the legendary Ebony Blade! Unbreakable and able to cut through almost anything, it was originally forged as a counterpart to Excalibur!

"That's great, guys", Duncan said. "But just as I thought, there's nothing here for…..it can't be."

He was looking up at a stain-glass representation of Draxus, his ancestor! And in front of him was a pedestal with a small chest on it. Duncan stepped up and slowly opened the chest. Inside was what appeared at first to be a gold segmented-orb with a silver handle on each side. He picked it up, and saw that there was a round opening in the front and back, showing the the orb was hollow. Suspended magickally in the orb was a softly glowing gem as red as blood and fire! His eyes widened as he realized what he was holding. His mother had told him all about this lost artifact! And he had also read everything he could find about it.

"It's beautiful, Duncan", Apple said.

"Agreed", Raven said. "But what is it?"

"This", Duncan began, his voice thick with awe, "is the Heart of Fire! Supposedly, as the first King of the Kaijus, Primalus, lay dying; he tore out his own heart and condenced it into a gem, to share his power with his descendants in a time of need. It's been lost for millennia! Legend says that when all hope is lost, a savior will step forward and embrace the power of the Heart of Fire to light the darkest hour!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: It took me a long time to come up with a connection between Duncan and Ever After; a reason for him to go there that would make sense for the story. Then it hit me! How did the treasure he would receive get there in the first place? And once I figured that out, it also explained how/why Duncan was also in the Storybook of Legends! BTW: anyone who can figure out the inspiration for the "Heart of Fire" gets a kaiju cookie and can ask ONE spoiler question in a PM!**

 **The 'Shield of Virtue' is from the Disney classic "Sleeping Beauty". And the 'Ebony Blade' is from Marvel Comics as the ancestral weapon of the Black Knight, although this is my own take on it.**

 **I also thank my friend Creaturemaster for all his help and inspiration!**

 **xxXXxx**


	60. Chapter 59

**_Hey, Everyone! A few surprises this Chapter! As always, I do not own "Firebreather", "Monster High", or "Ever After High". Enjoy!_**

Chapter 59

"Jeez, are King Charming and Coach Gingerbreadman **always** so intense?", Duncan asked. He had just finished Combat Training class with all the guys. Why there were no girls in class was beyond him. He had met several who were more than capable of holding their own!

"I guess so", Dirk smirked. "Too bad for Daring."

The Son of the Black Knight had bested Daring and Dexter in swordsmanship. Daring and Dexter then also lost in un-armed combat to Arthur, whom they had easily beaten with swords. Everyone, however, had lost to Duncan in un-armed combat due to the combination of his martial arts skill and raw strength. Overall, Daring was very slowly losing some of his arrogance and swollen pride. His vanity, however, remained intact. However, when the elder Charming sibling challenged Dirk to a rematch with swords, Dirk was more than happy to give him another lesson in humility.

"You're pretty good in hand-to-hand there, Arthur", Duncan smiled.

"True that", Dirk smirked, clapping his roommate on the back.

"You really think so?", Arthur asked modestly.

"Hey, my teacher back home is a dragon-girl who's been teaching me the martial arts of the ancient Dragon Masters", Duncan said. "And I say your good enough to impress **her**."

"Thanks", he smiled. "But I need serious help when it comes to fighting with weapons, though."

"I can help you with that", Dirk smiled, then raised an eye-brow conspiratorially. "It's the least I can do for my sister's boyfriend."

"H-how did you…?"

"Please", Dirk whispered. "I'm not blind. I've seen how you two look at each other when you think no one is looking."

"And I know the signs", Duncan smirked. "I knew you had someone, I just wasn't sure who. But don't be surprised if Cupid knows, too, it's kinda her thing. Congrats, Dude."

"We're keeping quiet for now", Arthur said. "We don't want to set off any bomb-spells….at least not yet."

"I think you can count on us", Dirk said, and Duncan nodded.

"Oh, Arthur!", a voice called out sweetly behind them. Arthur rolled his eyes as he turned to see Duchess Swann dancing up to them. "I saw you in your last class. You were wonderful!"

"Thanks, Duchess", he said politely. "But I gotta get to Science & Sorcery class."

"Oh! I'm in that class! Let's walk together", she said, wrapping her arm around his.

"She is seriously trying too hard to throw herself at him", Dirk said after they were gone.

"Tell me about it", Duncan groaned. "She reminds me of Amanita Nightshade and Nerfera De Nile; two ghouls who each wanted to steal me from Clawdeen for themselves."

"Duchess is only after him because he has no 'pre-determined' princess", Dirk told him. "She wants to move up the Royal rankings and get a 'happily-ever-after' for herself. *chuckle* Too bad for her my sister already stole his heart a long time ago."

"I don't know about that", Hunter said. "Duchess is also drooling over him as bad as she used to Daring. You should've seen her rush him when he first arrived. And that was way before we all saw his destiny."

xxXXxx

Daring was fast-walking through the halls toward his dorm, awkwardly holding his bookbag over his rear end, his face as red as Apple's dress. Darling saw him and tried to ask what was wrong, only for him to say he didn't want to talk about it as he hurried away. Then she saw Dexter.

"Dex, what's wrong with our brother?", she asked him.

"Dirk Knight", he told her. "After he beat Daring with swords in class, followed by Arthur beating him in hand-to-hand; Daring challenged Dirk with swords again. This time Dirk not only beat and dis-armed him, but he slashed the seat of our dear brother's pants."

"Is Daring hurt?", Darling asked, worried.

"Just his pride, which I think was Dirk's point, no pun intended", Dexter said. "Come to think of it, he was none too gentle with me either. But I think he was easier on me because I'm not the braggart Daring is."

Darling was a bit irked. Teaching Daring well deserved lesson was one thing. But going out of his way to humiliate her brother was not cool! It was time she got to the bottom of this! She went searching for Dirk Knight.

She ended up not finding him until lunchtime in the castleteria.

"Dirk, you got a minute", Darling asked him when she was close enough.

"Sure, Darling", he smiled, as he stepped away to the side with her. He couldn't help but admire her beauty and bearing as his heart began to beat faster. "What's up?"

"Is it true you deliberately slashed my brother's pants just to humiliate him after already beating him twice?", she asked, an edge of anger in her voice. His smile faded, a look of steel coming to his eyes.

"Yes I did", he said plainly. "He had it coming. What's more, he literally **asked** for it. His ego needs deflating."

"While I agree with you there", she said, not realizing she was slowly raising her voice, "you went too far! Beating him should've been enough!"

"I will **_never_** pass up an opportunity to out-shine, out-do, beat, and **humiliate** that punk for the simple fact that I'm a better fighter and a better hero than he will ever be!", Dirk shouted, his anger rising. "His entire life has been **rigged** to be **easy** for him! From what I've heard, even your own parents favor him over you and Dexter! Every time I see him, I would punch him in his perfect teeth if I could get away with it!"

The entire castleteria was shocked silent, watching the scene unfold and escalate.

"You don't know anything about our family!", Darling was starting to shout now. "What is your problem?!"

"You **really** want to know what my problem is?!", Dirk yelled. "It's that I **_DO_** know about your family! My father was the greatest warrior Ever After! But so-called 'destiny' demanded that he play the villain and lose battles to the Charming family over and over again, and every single one of them took the extra step to **humiliate** him in defeat! So I **will** **humiliate** your self-absorbed, pompous, bragging excuse of a brother at **_every_** opportunity! If he wants to play the hero while I'm around, he's gonna have to **_EARN_** it for once in his pampered life!"

All the students "Oooooooooh"-ed at that pronouncement.

Dirk then turned and kicked a trash can out of his way as he stormed out of the castleteria. Darling trembled as she wrestled with her emotions. She was angry with Dirk for what he did, and for yelling at her. But she **had** provoked him to an extent; and while his anger was overriding him, he wasn't entirely wrong about Daring. And her rational mind could also see his point of view about his father and their family. But why did she feel so….. ** _hurt_** that he yelled at her? Why did it bother her so much that he hates her family, especially Daring?

"That was unfairest of him to blame your whole family for what happened to his dad", Apple said as she came up beside her. "Darling, you're….you're crying!"

"Am I?", she reached up, and felt the tears rolling down her cheeks.

 _(BP) Wow, Dirk is carrying some serious resentment against the Charming family!_

 _(TP) And it seems that it's messing with his head when it comes to his attraction to Darling._

 _(BP) And I think she's just as attracted to him! Star-crossed lovers! How romantic!_

Dirk seethed as he stormed through the halls of Ever After High, other students giving him a wide berth. He was equal parts angry, confused, and ashamed. **Why** had he yelled that way at the most beautiful girl ever after? She was just standing up for her family, something he of all people could understand and admire. But she was a Charming! Just the name made his blood boil! And Daring was the epitome of everything his father had told him about the Charming family! But not Darling….beautiful and brave Darling….Gah! Stop that!

"Hey, Dirk."

He turned around to see Cupid walking over. .

"Hi, Cupid", he said sheepishly. "I'm guessing you saw that?"

"Yup. And I think even if I hadn't I would've heard you all the way on the other side of the school", she said sympathetically. "Look, we all understand how you feel about Daring….many others feel the same way about his ego. But 'open mouth, insert foot' much? Darling didn't deserve that."

"I know", he said in an ashamed tone. "I didn't mean to explode like that, especially on her."

"You really like her, don't you?", Cupid smiled knowingly.

"Well, she's not fooling me, if that's what you mean", he smiled. "She's no 'damsel-in-distress'! She's as tough and brave as she is beautiful. I wouldn't be surprised if she was as good with a sword as me, and I **like** that."

Cupid smiled, but said nothing further about it. If she was right about what she was sensing from both of them, the seeds were planted, but needed time to grow into something more. In the meantime….

"You should apologize to her for losing your head", she told him. "I think she can understand how you feel, but tell her you're sorry for hurting her feelings."

"I guess you're right. Thanks, Cupid."

xxXXxx

(Monster High)

Clawdeen was at Gloom Beach, sitting in hers and Duncan's favorite picnic-spot….the same place that they clobbered Torq and his Horde. He had been gone for almost a week, and she missed him terribly.

"Hey, Clawdeen."

She looked up to see Claire and the Hex Girls.

"Hey, Ghouls. What's up?", she asked warmly, trying to shake off her funk.

"Well, Clawdeen, I seriously owe Duncan big-time for helping to save me from Mordred", Claire said. "And I think I found a way to bring him home without the mirrors."

"Are you sure?!", the werewolf asked eagerly. "How? And is there any way I can help?"

"Actually, you're the key to my plan", Claire said. "You **are** wearing the necklace he gave you, right? The one with one of his scales?"

"I never go anywhere without it", she said, pulling it from inside her top.

"And I know he was wearing the locket you gave him with a lock of your hair when he went through the mirror", Claire said. "I found a spell to 'reunite lovers true', and it requires that each lover have a physical token from the other to work."

"What else do we need?", Clawdeen asked eagerly.

"We have everything else with us, if you want to try right now?", Thorn said.

"Let's do it!"

The young witches carefully drew a large, accurate compass around Clawdeen in the sand, and set candles at the cardinal points. Clawdeen stood over a large crystal in the center, while the witches stood just beyond the candles.

"Now, focus on being together with Duncan while we chant the spell, ok Clawdeen?", Claire said from the 'North' point of the compass.

"No problem", Clawdeen smiled, then closed her eyes in concentration.

Claire, Thorn, Dusk, and Luna began to chant the spell they had found in the ancient language it was written. After a few moments, Clawdeen's necklace and the crystal began to glow while the flames of the candles flared higher. A swirl of magickal energy began to form above the compass; a portal.

"I think it's working, ghouls!", Clawdeen shouted. Then there was a flash of light, and a mild shock-wave that knocked the girls and their candles over. When Claire and her friends looked up, the compass, the portal, and Clawdeen were gone.

"Oops", Claire said.

"Ya think?!", the Hex Girls sniped.

xxXXxx

Classes had just ended for the day, so Duncan decided to go outside for some air and hopefully hang with some of his new friends. He wasn't surprised that Arthur, Apple and most of her friends were focused on Darling after the shouting match she had with Dirk at lunch.

"Hey, Duncan", Raven greeted him with Cerise Hood by her side. "Have you seen my brother since…?

"Since he blew up at Darling?", he finished. "Sorry, but I haven't. He told me before about the bad blood with the Charming family, but I had no idea the resentment went so deep for him."

"For what it's worth, I don't think he meant to yell at her like that", Raven said. "I told her so, and she agrees. But it still hurt her, which is weird. Darling is one of the strongest people I know, she's not easy to hurt."

"You don't suppose….?", Cerise started.

"WHOA! What's that?!", Sparrow yelled, causing everyone to look at the swirling disc of blue & gold magick that appeared about twenty feet directly above Duncan. Everyone came closer as Duncan looked up in confusion. Then he heard a faint voice screaming, growing louder as if it were coming closer; a familiar voice! Then a very familiar female form fell, still yelling, out of the portal! Duncan caught her with ease, a shocked grin on his face.

"Clawdeen?!"

"Duncan!", she squealed as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"Does this mean you've 'fallen' for me again?", he smirked when they broke the kiss.

"Very funny, Smart-ass!", she grinned, playfully slapping his chest. "Do you think I can stand up now, Handsome?"

Duncan chuckled at the reference to how they first met as he set her down.

"How did you get here?", he asked.

"I'd like to know that myself!", Headmaster Grimm said sternly as he arrived. He was **_not_** happy about the arrival of **another** monster from that world!

"Clawdeen, this is Milton Grimm; Headmaster of Ever After High", Duncan groaned.

"Now, let's not be rude, Brother", Giles said as he stepped up next to Milton. "I'm Professor Giles Grimm, young lady. Please tell us how it is you came here?"

"Well, it was actually an attempt to bring you home, Duncan", Clawdeen explained. "Using our connection to each other through these(she indicated their necklaces). I guess instead of bringing you home, it brought me to you."

"I guess you're stuck here with me now until the mirrors are repaired", he smiled sheepishly. "I really missed you, Clawdeen."

"I missed you too, Hot-Stuff", she smiled, and kissed him again, drawing 'aaaaaaawww's from all the girls.

"Yes-yes", Milton said. "That explains her arrival, but she will have to stay…."

"With **_me_** ", Duncan said firmly.

"Only students and their…..", Milton started to say before Duncan again interrupted him.

"She **is** family, Headmaster", he said firmly. "We are bonded as life-mates; you could say that technically, we're married. If you don't believe me, ask Professor Badwolf."

"Technically, he is correct", Prof. Badwolf said gruffly. "As life-mates, they **are** married physically and spiritually, if not legally."

"And I have no roommate", Duncan smirked, knowing it was Milton who arranged that in the first place. "So there shouldn't be a problem with her sharing my room with me."

The Headmaster sputtered for a moment, realizing he'd been out-played.

"Very well", he said, then he turned and walked away.

"Well, Clawdeen", a very pretty blonde said to her. "I'm Apple White! Welcome to Ever After High!"

"Thanks", the werewolf smiled, as she was then introduced to everyone. Cerise Hood seemed particularly shy, which was strange for a wolf. Ramona and Prof. Badwolf were curious and respectful, sensing her status and power as an Alpha. The Professor was Alpha of his family's pack, but he sensed Clawdeen was …more. Clawdeen couldn't understand why Cerise seemed to be avoiding her sister and father, but said nothing.

"You'll meet everyone else over time, I'm sure, Clawdeen", Raven said warmly. "In fact, tonight while the guys have a 'boy's night' in the school rec-center, most of us girls are having a slumber-party in the common-room of the girls' dorm. It would be great if you joined us."

"Sounds like fun!", Clawdeen said. "Count me in!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: So Duncan and Clawdeen are together again…..just not how they expected! LOL!**

 **Will Dirk apologise? Will Darling forgive him? And What exactly is going on with those two? And what exactly will Blondie, EAH's intrepid investigative reporter discover? Wait and see next chapter! Same Kaiju Time, Same Kaiju Channel! LOL!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	61. Chapter 60

**_Hey, Everyone! More set-up and character development this Chaoter, along with another song! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 60

"So this is where you've been staying?", Clawdeen asked as she looked around his dorm room. "Pretty posh, Hot-Stuff."

"Thanks, Beautiful", he smiled. "This whole world is kinda out there. And this school for the children of famous myths and fairy-tale characters? It takes some getting used to. But that's still not the weirdest part."

"Are you fear-ious?", Clawdeen drolled. "What could be weirder?"

"This", he said, going to a painting of a dragon on the wall. He took it down and revealed an opening created by a missing stone block. He had removed it to create a hiding place. Clawdeen was floored by the beauty of the item he removed to show her. The main part was a gold orb the size of his head. It had silver handles and seemed to contain a glowing red gem!

"That thing is clawesomely gore-geous", she said breathlessly. "What is it?"

"Remember what I told you about that special book they have, and the 'destiny' it showed for me?", he asked, to which she nodded. "I found out later that I'm in the book because one of my kaiju ancestors, Draxus, came here long ago and saved this world. Apparently, before he was sent home, he left **this** here. This is the Heart of Fire."

"Whoa! I thought that thing was only a legend!", she said.

"Like the Vampire's Heart? Or the Moonstone?", he smirked.

"Touche", she said, rolling her eyes.

"Because of **this** , I'm starting to think I was meant to come here and find it", he said.

Unknown to both of them, they were being watched from the mirror-realm. The Evil Queen smiled wickedly.

"So that's why I sense so much power from this boy", she said to herself. "He is the descendant of Draxus. He might prove…useful."

xxXXxx

Dirk was searching for Darling so he could apologize, but she was nowhere to be found. He did, however, find his sister. Although it would be more accurate to say that she found him.

"Hey, Raven", he smiled. "Have you seen Darling anywhere?"

"Yeah, you could say that", she said with a small smile. "She said for you to meet her in the west garden courtyard."

"Thanks", he smiled. "I need to apologize to her."

"Yeah, you might need to do **more** than that", she said sheepishly. "Bit of advice? Take your sword."

xxXXxx

Arthur was looking forward to the "guys' night" in the rec-center, but first he and Raven planned rendezvous briefly in the 'secret garden'. He made his way there surreptitiously. Unfortunately, Blondie Lockes noticed his strange behavior. Smelling a story, she followed him unnoticed. She saw him enter the 'secret garden'. Being unable to follow further without being seen, she waited in concealment with her mirror-pad at the ready.

Several minutes later, as the sun was setting, a hooded and cloaked figure passed her hiding place to enter the garden. Blondie quietly moved toward to open, vine-covered gate to get a good look inside and began recording with her mirror-pad.

"I'm so glad you came", Arthur smiled, embracing the cloaked figure. He leaned in to kiss her, causing the hood to fall back off of her head. Blondie had to stifle a gasp when she saw that it was none other than Raven Queen!

"I hate this sneaking around as much as you do", Raven said after breaking the kiss.

"We're back together after all these years", he smiled. "That's all that really matters. I can endure anything as long as we're together. I love you, Raven."

"I love you, too, Arthur", she smiled. They kissed deeply again. "I better go before the girls start to wonder where I am."

"Yeah, the guys are probably starting to gather in the rec-center, too", he said.

"Don't be surprised if my brother is the last to get there", she smirked.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Let's just say apologizing to Darling could take longer than he thought", Raven giggled as she raised her hood again. Blondie hid herself as they both left the garden.

"What a bomb-spell!", she said to herself after they left. She ran back to the Mirror-lab.

xxXXxx

Dirk entered the west garden courtyard. Darling was already there, waiting with her back to him, wrapped in a blue cloak.

"Darling?"

She turned to face him. A neutral look of resolve on her face.

"Darling", he spoke contritely, "I'm really sorry I yelled at you. I let my…..anger get the best of me. I didn't mean to go off on you like that."

"Fine", she said succinctly.

"Fine?"

"That's right", she said, then a small grin. "But it's not enough."

In one smooth movement, she tossed the right side of her cloak over her shoulder and brought her hidden sword to 'ready' position!

"We're both defending the honor of our families", she smiled. "En Guarde!"

'Her posture and movement are **perfect!** ', he thought to himself, impressed. 'I suspected as much! But if she wants to play, then I'm game.'

"You can't be serious", he smiled, deliberately egging her on. With a deft movement, she brought her sword-tip to his throat. He ran his finger along the blade, then pushed the tip down and away with a flick of his wrist. "I don't have the time to give you the proper instruction."

"My mother secretly saw to it that I had the 'proper instruction' since I was five", she grinned, returning to 'ready' position.

He drew his sword and crossed her blade in 'ready' position. Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed the blade of his sword was black.

One moment of quiet….then a flurry of moves and parries! They took each other's measure. They stopped and circled each other for a moment. Another flurry! Back and forth, until Darling managed to twist a move and slash the sleeve of his jacket over his left biceps. Another pause.

"Hmmmm?", he smiled as he checked his sleeve. They both then took a moment; he to remove his jacket, and she to likewise remove her cloak so they could get serious.

As soon as they were ready, they launched into a furious exchange. He used a move that would have dis-armed a lesser opponent like Daring, but she flowed with it into a spin that brought her immediately back into the flurry…..until he hoizontally slashed the skirt of her dress! It now drooped from mid-thigh down almost to her ankles.

"Not bad", she smiled as she completed the tear, turning her dress into a mini-dress. They exchanged more moves until he locked them into a close engagement, their faces mere inches apart.

"Not bad at all", he smirked, then kissed her full on the lips! By the time she realized what happened, he had pushed away again! Blushing, she rushed him again. This time as their blades clashed, Dirk made a quick vertical slash to the bodice of her dress, exposing her corsette!

"Hmmm!", he smirked, leaning his head to the side in a half-shrug. She heatedly attacked again. He managed to lock-up her blade and kiss her again! He then twisted their swords around and dis-armed her. She glared defiantly at him as she blushed furiously.

"Show me what you've got", he smiled, as he used his sword-tip to toss her sword back to her. "Don't hold back with me."

"Oh, don't you worry", she said evenly. "I won't!"

With that she came in a calculated flurry, driving him back! She was focused and now knew what he was capable of. In a blindingly fast move, Darling dis-armed him!

"This will make things more difficult", he said sheepishly. Then he grinned and flipped backwards as she pursued him. He then dove forward over her horizontal slash into a rolling somersault on the ground and came up holding his sword ready.

"You're good", she grinned as she crossed swords with him again.

"So are you", he smiled.

Another furious exchange, back and forth, and Darling managed to sweep Dirk's sword-arm wide and slash open his shirt! Her smirk of victory turned into a blush as she got a good look at his lean, well-muscled torso.

With a grin, he lunged….she parried. Their swords clashed rapid-fire in a back and forth contest of skill, neither giving and inch. Finally, Dirk struck a mighty blow, breaking her sword in half! Darling was dis-armed yet again! Then Dirk lunged in close, the edge of the Ebony Blade against her throat, his face inches from hers.

"Do you yield?", he asked, panting through his smile.

"Never", she breathed with a grin.

"Good", he said, as he dropped his sword and embraced her, crushing his lips to hers. She melted into the kiss, returning his embrace to pull him closer.

xxXXxx

Darling returned to the girls' dorm wing with her cloak wrapped around her. None of the girls gave it a second thought as she passed through the common room to her dorm….except Raven.

"Darling?", she called through the door after knocking. "It's Raven."

The door opened just enough for Darling to quickly reach out and pull Raven in before shutting the door just as fast!

"Whoa! Are you ok?", the witchling asked her friend. Darling then dropped the broken pieces of her sword on her bed to show Raven. Her eyes widened in shock! It was not that long ago that Darling had dueled the Red Knight of Wonderland in disguise and defeated him!

"Your brother is **_really_** good!", the girl Charming said, dropping her cloak. Raven gasped when she saw the damage to her dress!

"Judging by your sword, he beat you", Raven said.

"Yes and no", Darling smiled. "He did beat me. But when I still wouldn't yield, he sort of….. surrendered."

"Come again?", Raven asked, confused.

"He apologized and promised not to humiliate Daring anymore", Darling said. "But neither would he back off of beating or out-doing him in any way. I suppose that's fair. It just might shape my brother up!"

There was another knock.

"It's Cupid", they heard from outside. "Let me in!"

Darling nodded to Raven as she changed her dress, and Raven let the Demi-goddess of Love in. As she did, Maddie dashed in as well.

Cupid took one look at Darling and smiled a happy smile.

"I knew it!", she said. "I could sense it when you came in! I'm so happy for you, Darling!"

"W-what are you talking about?", Darling blushed.

"You can't fool me, Darling Charming!", she said. Then Maddie laughed joyfully.

"Yay! Yay! Yay!", the daughter of the Mad Hatter giggled, hugging the platinum-blonde.

Raven's eyes widened as she finally figured it out.

"Darling?! You and my **brother?!",** Raven smiled. Not only was she happy for her brother and her friend, but the irony of the match would likely give Headmaster Grimm a **_stroke!_**

"I-it's really no big deal", the former White Knight said as she went out into the common room, forgetting that was where the others girls were. "He apologized, we 'talked', he kissed me….."

"Who kissed you?!", multiple female voices said at once, making Darling cringe.

"My brother!", Raven told them with a grin, eliciting squeals and giggles them all, making Darling blush even more!

"Why do I get the distinct feeling that's what all **my** ghoulfriends did when they found out that I first kissed Duncan", Clawdeen grinned as she tried to sooth the ringing in her ears from the collective squeal.

"Please", Darling said, trying to stave off her friends. "I'm sure it's nothing more than a flirtation."

Just as the girls were about to pester her for more details, the Mirror-net screens came on with Blondie.

"Good evening, Ever After High! This is Blondie Lockes with a special, late-breaking news story! Earlier this evening, I caught site of the newest 'power-couple' here at Ever After High!"

Darling groaned, thinking it was her and Dirk she had seen and was about to spill the beans to the whole school.

Blondie then pulled up a video…..showing Arthur White and a cloaked figure in the secret garden! Apple and Raven both gasped, each for very different reasons.

" **NO!** ", Duchess Swann whined. "He's supposed to be **_MY_** prince!"

Then the hood of the cloak fell as Arthur kissed the figure, revealing her to be Raven Queen! Everyone gasped then! They all heard the loving conversation and sweet good-byes.

"You heard right, viewers!", Blondie said. "These two really love each other and apparently have for a very long time! I'll follow up on this Royally-Rebellious relationship as this story develops! Until then, this is Blondie Lockes signing off and feeling juuuust right."

The room was stunned…..Apple White most of all. Her twin brother. Arthur White. Was in love with Raven Queen.

"Apple?", Raven said nervously, as the other girls gave them room. "Apple, don't freak out."

"How long?", Apple asked.

"What?"

"How long have you two been in love?", Apple asked, in a surprisingly calm tone.

"Since we were children", Raven confirmed.

"Why didn't either of you ever tell me?"

"I'm sorry, Apple", Raven said gently. "We….we didn't think you would understand; what with our family histories and all."

Apple shook herself out of her daze.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow….with **both** our brothers, ok?", Apple said. "Tonight we party."

"Now your talkin'!", Briar said.

"Skreechin' to the choir, ghoul!", Clawdeen said before howling.

Unnoticed by all, Duchess Swann seethed as she stormed out of the party.

'We'll just **see** what Headmaster Grimm has to say about **this!** ', she thought to herself.

xxXXxx

In the rec-center, all the games had stopped and all eyes were on Arthur White, who was blushing as red as his shirt! Blondie had seen them earlier! Dexter excused himself and left. Arthur was about to follow when…..

" **ARTHUR WHITE!** ", a voice roared, making his blood freeze. He turned to see Dirk Knight striding slowly toward him. The rest of the guys, including Daring, quickly parted like the Red Sea; wanting to be anywhere but between the two of them. Dirk stopped when he was inches away from the Son of Snow White. Arthur gulped, but kept eye-contact without flinching. Dirk's purple eyes were like steel.

"Do you love my sister?", he asked firmly.

"Yes, I do", Arthur said honestly. "I have for a long time."

Dirk's eyes seemed to bore into him, as if to determine the truth of his words. Arthur could sense himself being judged. A small smile appeared on Dirk's lips, and Arthur exhaled in relief. He'd been deemed worthy.

"Ok, then", Dirk smiled. "You're a good guy, Arthur. I can't think of anyone who could be better for Raven than you."

"Thanks", Arthur said, then he remembered something.

"You already knew, though?", he whispered.

"True", Dirk whispered with a sly smirk. "But I have a rep to maintain. Besides, you should've seen your face! BTW, if you hurt my sister, I will skewer and roast you over an open fire."

xxXXxx

"I gotta tell ya, Lizzie", Clawdeen said as she looked over Lizzie's shoulder as she drew in her sketchbook, "you got mad style."

"Why thank you, Clawdeen!", the Princess of Hearts said. "Duncan told me you're a designer as well?"

"Yup! Me and my ghouls Jinafire and Skelita founded the Fashion Club back in Monster High", she said. "We design and sew our looks all the time. Sometimes we go on a creation binge and throw a 'Flashion Mob' at school; where we and everyone we make a look for strut our stuff at the last bell of school the day we finish."

"That sounds Wonderlandiful!", Lizzie said. "Maybe we could do one before you and Duncan go home?"

"That would be voltageous, Your Highness", Clawdeen grinned.

All the girls were having fun. Holly and Poppy O'Hair; the Daughters of Rapunzel, were doing everyone's hair. Maddie kept the tea flowing in her usual joyful madness, laughing all the way. Ashlynn was offering pedicures to anyone in the mood. Most of the talk was about boys, of course.

Clawdeen saw Cerise sitting of to the side, away from the others and still wearing her hood. Clawdeen approached her with a smile.

"What's on your mind, ghoulfriend?"

"What did you call me?", the girl gasped, pulling her hood tighter over her head.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting the slang is different here", Clawdeen explained. "But seriously, why so quiet? This is a party after all."

"I know. It's just that even when I have fun I gotta be careful", Cerise said. She looked to see that no one else was close enough to hear them. "Only Raven and Kitty know my secret. And now you, I suspect. After all, I can't hide the truth from an Alpha."

"Why are you hiding who you are anyway?", Clawdeen asked, now realizing that the girl was hiding her scare-itage.

Cerise took out her locket, and opened it to show a picture of her with her sister Ramona, her dad Prof. Badwolf, and a beautiful human woman wearing a red hooded cape very similar to hers.

"My mom is Red Riding-Hood", she said. "And I was chosen to be her successor. That's why I support Raven as a rebel; I want to change not only my story, but my whole family's. Until then, we have to keep it secret, even if it means that I have to pretend my sister is my enemy. Can I trust you to keep it, too?"

"My lips are sealed", the werewolf smiled.

"Cerise! Clawdeen!", Apple called cheerfully. "Come join in the 'boy'-talk! I bet you have some great stories about you and Duncan, Clawdeen?"

"Oh, you have **no** idea!", Clawdeen laughed. "Starting with how we met!"

xxXXxx

The guys' party was in full swing; games of billiards and air-hockey going, as well as pinball and video-games. Arthur was still feeling a bit guilty. Shortly after he and Raven had re-connected, he'd learned that Dexter had a serious crush on her. After Blondie exposed them, Dexter left the party, and Arthur could guess why. He never wanted to hurt anyone, let alone someone as kind and good as Dexter.

"Thinkin' about Dexter?", Duncan asked.

"How'd you guess?"

"You have that 'I accidentally hurt someone' look on your face", the hybrid said with a sympathetic smile. "You want to apologize…..try to make him feel better. Trust me, he just needs some time to himself for now. Come on, let's join the conversation over at the game tables. I'll even give you a shot at my air-hockey winning streak."

"I tell ya, relationships are getting weird around here lately", Hopper was saying as Duncan and Arthur rejoined the guys around the billiard and air hockey tables.

"Why do you say that, Hopper?", Daring asked.

"Well think about it: heroes dating villains—no offense, guys(he said to Arthur and Dirk)—not to mention Royals and Rebels like Ashlynn and Hunter. And now—well—monsters too."

"Chill, Hopper", Duncan smiled. "I'm not offended. But see, where Clawdeen and I are from, we're free to love who we love; even if they're of a different species. Look at these pics in my phone."

The guys gathered around as he scrolled through multiple photos: him+Clawdeen, Cleo+Deuce, Twyla+Raythe, Kenny+Frankie, Chad+Jinafire, DJ+Robecca, Joe+Venus.

"Plus these two are actually three", he showed Claire+Jackson/Holt.

"Clawdeen's twin, Clawd, is dating Draculaura; a vampire", Duncan explained showing a pic of them together. "Historically, vampires and werewolves are rivals at best, and deadly enemies at worst. Same with Wydowna Spider and Scotty Stinger(another pic), and Gil and Lagoona being fresh-water and salt-water monsters(another pic)."

"Plus, I'm not the only hybrid at Monster High", he said, scrolling through pics of the Hex Girls, Jackson/Holt, Avia, Sirena, Neighthan, and Bonita. "All of mixed parentage."

"It's like Cupid is always telling us", Hunter reminded them. "Love knows no bounds."

"One just has to reach out and get it! Ha-Ha!", Daring said, making Dirk face-palm.

XX

Author's note: this song; "Like Me", is from the Disney film "Teen Beach Movie", and will bounce back and forth between the guys and girls, as it does in the movie. Unless otherwise specified, each group is singing their parts together.

XX

 **When you meet**

 **A girl you like**

 **You should take**

 **My advice**

 **(Daring) Girls like boys like me.**

 **Awooo-ooooo-ooooo-ooooo**

 **(Daring) Take the lead, she likes it when you're in control.**

 **(Duncan) Let her breath, chill out and go with the flow.**

 **(Daring) Make all the plans.**

 **(Arthur) Don't be impolite.**

 **I know what girls, know what girls,**

 **Yeah, I know what girls like.**

 ** _(Apple) A quick glance, bat your eyes and look away._**

 ** _(Clawdeen) Take a chance, why not ask him on a date?_**

 ** _Pick up the check._**

 ** _(Ginger) No! Bake him a pie._**

 ** _I know what boys, know what boys,_**

 ** _Yeah, I know what boys like._**

 **I know what girls like, you know what I mean.**

 ** _I know what boys like, boys like girls like me!_**

 **I know what girls like, girls like boys like me!**

 ** _I know what boys like, boys like girls like me!_**

 **(Hunter) Like me!**

 ** _(Ashlynn) Like me!_**

 **(Arthur) Like me!**

 ** _(Raven) Like me!_**

 **(Daring) Like me!**

 ** _(Apple) Like me!_**

 **(Dirk) Hang with the guys, don't tell her how much you care.**

 **(Duncan) Look in her eyes, and tell her even if you're scared.**

 **(Daring) You got it wrong.**

 **(Arthur) No, I got it right.**

 **I know what girls, know what girls,**

 **Yeah, I know what girls like.**

 ** _(Lizzie) Stretch pants, cute sweater, and sweet perfume._**

 ** _(Darling) Don't dress for him, it's better when you dress for you._**

 ** _(Cerise) I keep it loose._**

 ** _(Clawdeen) My outfit is tight._**

 ** _I know what boys, know what boys,_**

 ** _Yeah, I know what boys like._**

 **I know what girls like, you know what I mean.**

 ** _I know what boys like, boys like girls like me!_**

 **I know what girls like, girls like boys like me!**

 ** _I know what boys like, boys like girls like me!_**

 **(Sparrow) Like me!**

 ** _(Melody) Like me!_**

 **(Hopper) Like me!**

 ** _(Briar) Like me!_**

 **(Duncan) Like me!**

 ** _(Clawdeen) Like me!_**

 ** _(Apple) All the boys, they try to woo me._**

 ** _(Darling) The more they chase me, the more I resist._**

 **(Daring) All the girls, they think I'm groovy.**

 **(Dirk) There's only one girl that's on my list.**

 **I know what girls like, girls like boys like me!**

 ** _I know what boys like, boys like girls like me!_**

 **I know what girls like, girls like boys like me!**

 **Awooo-ooooo-ooooo-ooooo**

 ** _I know what boys like, boys like girls like me!_**

 **I know what girls like, girls like boys like me!**

 ** _I know what boys like, boys like girls like me!_**

 **I know what girls like, girls like boys like me!**

 **(Alistar) Like me!**

 ** _(Bunny) Like me!_**

 **(Hopper) Like me!**

 ** _(Briar) Like me!_**

 **(Dirk) Like me!**

 ** _(Darling) Like me!_**

"By the way, Cedar", Blondie started with a knowing smile. "Didn't Nathan Nutcracker ask you out to a movie this weekend?"

"I cannot tell a lie", Cedar blushed, remembering how her cute fellow puppet was nervous when he asked her. "It's tomorrow afternoon."

"Good for you, Cedar!", Raven smiled, happy for her friend.

"And now that the portals to Wonderland are open again, I can see my boyfriend again!", Maddie giggled madly.

"Whoa! You never told us you had a boyfriend, Maddie!", Darling said.

"Yup", Bunny Blanc said with a smile. "She's dating my cousin; Curly Hare, Son of the March Hare."

"He's the only one I've ever met who's as mad as me!", Maddie laughed.

"How about you, Kitty?", Cerise smiled teasingly. "Haven't I seen you talking to Tommy Boots a few times, grinning wider than usual?"

"Mmmmaaaaaybe", Kitty Cheshire purred, flashing her signature grin.

xxXXxx

Duchess Swann was furious! She fumed as she walked the halls. Arthur was every bit as handsome as Daring, and he had no pre-determined princess!

'I can't believe he's in love with Raven Queen!', she thought as she stormed through the quiet school. 'If anyone deserves a Happily-Ever-After with Prince Arthur White, it's **_me!_** '

She grinned as she saw the light coming from the Headmaster's open office door.

"Headmaster Grimm?", she said as she entered.

"Miss Swann", Milton said, confused as to why she would be here. "It is getting rather late, and I thought you and the other girls had plans for the evening."

"Yes, I **was** at the party", she smirked. "But I think there's something you really need to know."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Jealousy, thy name is Duchess! What's gonna happen when Miltom Grimm finds out about Arthur and Raven? Will Dirk and Darling be exposed as well? Or is what they have just a flirtation? Wait and see! LOL!**

 **The duel between Dirk and Darling was greatly inspired by the stable duel between Antonio Banderas' 'Zorro' and Catherine Zeta-Jones 'Elena' in "Mask of Zorro"!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	62. Chapter 61

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter is the final set-up before the main story of this arc. The song, "What About Love", is originally by the 80's sister group "Heart"! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 61

 _(MN) Well it looks like the cat is out of the bag for Raven and Arthur._

 _(FN) Yes, and Headmaster Grimm is_ _ **not**_ _happy about it!_

 _(BP) And all because of Duchess Swann being jealous over Arthur! I'd like to just….!_

 _(MN) Brooke!_

 _(FN) Mind your manners!_

 _(TP) Remember, Sis, as narrators we're not supposed to interfere with the story. We only_ _ **tell**_ _the story._

 _(FN) Listen to your brother._

 _(BP) Ugh! Fine!_

"Of all the foolish, irresponsible, potentially **dangerous** decisions!", Milton Grimm fumed. "A hero and a villain can **not** be in a relationship!"

He had called Arthur White and Raven Queen to his office immediately after breakfast, and they knew this was coming from the moment Blondie exposed them on the mirror-net. Giles gave them a compassionate smile as they entered his brother's office and sat down moments ago. Raven was about to retort sharply to Milton's pronouncement, when Arthur squeezed her hand.

"With all due respect, Headmaster", the Prince began calmly, "We fell in love a long time ago. It's not our fault it never faded, despite years of separation. Besides, Raven has chosen **not** to sign the Book or be a villain, and the identity of my destined Princess is **unclear** , if you'll remember?"

"That's beside the point!", Milton huffed.

"Actually, Milton", Giles said calmly, "I believe that is **exactly** their point. Has it not occurred to you that they are perhaps the awakening of a lost tale? Or the beginning of an entirely new story?"

"We **must** preserve the stories of tradition, Giles!", Milton insisted.

"Headmaster Grimm", Raven said firmly, taking Arthur's hand and standing, "the fact remains that under these circumstances, nothing in the school charter allows you to interfere in our relationship, whether you like it or not."

Milton sputtered as the couple left. Watching from the mirror-realm, the Evil Queen smiled proudly. While she was not happy to see her spell broken and Arthur back in Raven's life, she was proud of her daughter for not only defying convention, but also for defying authority to do it.

"That's right, my little blackbird", she said to herself. "Take and do what you want and let **nothing** and **no one** stand in your way! That is the way of true evil!"

xxXXxx

Being a Saturday, the students were free to do as they pleased. Earlier at breakfast, Arthur had a short chat with Dexter and apologized for causing him any pain. Dexter graciously accepted. Broken-hearted as he was, Dexter couldn't really blame Arthur and saw how genuine he was in his concern. Dexter steeled himself, pushing his pain aside…..as if ignoring it meant it didn't exist.

Now, all the students were going about their day; some staying at school to relax, work on their hobbies, or participate in activities, others heading into Book End to shop, hang-out, or run errands.

Dirk decided to spend the day sharpening and maintaining his weapons. He still chuckled over Headmaster Grimm sputtering about his hidden-blades. He dis-assembled the mechanisms to clean and oil them, as well as hone the blades. He was considering some of the modifications suggested by his Creed teacher; any one of them could useful or turn the tables on an enemy if needed.

Raven found herself frequently helping people with her magick wherever she went with Arthur. But when the pair heard Duncan and Clawdeen mention missing their favorite coffee-drinks back home, Raven offered to take them into Book End to the Coffee-Beanstalk. So the couples made it a double-date. The monster couple ordered double-chocolate hocus-lattes, Arthur a vanilla-caramel hocus-latte, and Raven a dark-roast black-cherry-crème hocus-latte. As they all sat at one of the out-door tables, they saw Dexter walking down the other side of the street, trying to look strong. Then Cupid came up next to him.

"Hey, Dex", she said with gentle sweetness. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine", he said stiffly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, what with Arthur White and Raven….."

"I said I'm fine!", he said sharply, making her flinch. "Everyone keeps walking on egg-shells around me..…asking if I'm ok! I wish you all would just leave me **alone**!"

With that, Dexter Chaming stormed off. Cupid watched him go with tears in her eyes. She crossed the street and sat at an empty table, still watching him. Tears still rolling down her cheeks, he opened her heart and her voice:

 _I've been lonely_

 _I've been waiting for you_

 _I'm pretending, and that's all I can do_

 _The love I'm sending_

 _Ain't making it through to your heart_

 _You've been hurting - never letting it show_

 _Always trying to keep it under control_

 _You shoved it down and you're well_

 _On your way to the top_

 _But there's something that you forgot!_

 _What about love?_

 _Don't you want someone to care about you?_

 _What about love?_

 _Don't let it slip away_

 _What about love?_

 _I only want to share it with you_

 _You might need it some day_

 _Yeah_

 _I can't tell you what you're feeling inside_

 _And I can't sell you what you don't want to buy_

 _Something's missing and you got to_

 _Look back on your life_

 _You know something here just ain't right!_

 _What about love?_

 _Don't you want someone to care about you?_

 _What about love?_

 _Don't let it slip away_

 _What about love?_

 _I only want to share it with you_

 _What about love_

 _Don't you want someone to care about you?_

 _What about love?_

 _Don't let it slip away_

 _What about love?_

 _I only want to share it with you._

"I can't stand to see Cupid hurting like this", Clawdeen said sadly. "I mean, who ever thought that the Goddess of Love herself would fall in love?"

"We might not be together if it weren't for her", Duncan agreed. "And she's helped so many others find love. I'm gonna return the favor right now!"

Duncan stood up to head after Dexter.

"What're you thinkin', Hot-Stuff?", Clawdeen asked.

"You three invite Cupid to join you", he said. "Try to cheer her up and, most importantly, keep her here! I'm gonna have a word with Dexter."

Duncan couldn't see Dexter anymore, so he extended his wings and took to the air. With a bird's-eye view, it didn't take too long for him to find his friend.

"Yo, Dexter!", he called as he came in to land. "Got a minute?"

Dexter, turned when he heard his name, and startled slightly seeing Duncan flying down to him. He was still getting used to the fact that Duncan could fly.

"Hey, Duncan", he said evenly. "I don't mean to sound anti-social, but I really don't feel like talking. Everyone keeps asking me how I'm feeling, and I'm getting tired of it."

"That's good", Duncan said. "Because I need to ask you a different question."

"And what would that be?", Dexter asked. Without warning,*WHAP!* Duncan smacked him upside his head! "OW! What was **that** for?!", he said as he fumbled his glasses and crown.

"It's part of my question: **Are you** **blind?!** ", Duncan asked incredulously. "Because for a guy who wears glasses, you can't seem to see what's right in front of you!"

"What are you talking about?!"

" **CUPID! YOU DUNCE!** ", Duncan practically shouted.

"What about her?", Dexter asked. "She's one of my best friends forever after."

Duncan face-palmed. "I think the entire school knows that she has a **_huge_** crush on you—and has for quite a while—except **you!** "

Dexter blinked in total confusion. It couldn't be. Why would the Goddess of Love be in love with **him**? The very idea was ludicrous. But then, now that he thought about it, she had always been there for him no matter what. Even if he was tinkering with the tech in the mirror-lab, talking about things only he and Humphry Dumpty could understand; she didn't mind as long as she was spending time with him. And many times when he would help her with her crown-culus homework, he would catch her staring at him with a dreamy smile on her face before she snapped out of it and returned to the assignment. She even listened and gave him advice about Raven before Arthur arrived, and now he knew why she had a pained expression at those times. Had he truly been so blind?

"I must be the dumbest prince ever after", he said, face-palming himself.

"Ya think?", Duncan chuckled with a satisfied grin. "But I know just the cure. Join Cupid and the rest of us at the Coffee-Beanstalk….right now."

xxXXxx

After coffee and lunch, the six-pack of friends did a little shopping; as Duncan and Clawdeen both needed some more clothes than what they had on their backs! Clawdeen found a few looks that she liked and/or could alter for herself, as well as a few bra&panty sets. None of the shops had clothes for guys with wings, so Duncan picked out a few shirts that Clawdeen said she could alter for him easily, plus another pair of pants and more boxer-briefs. They both smiled when they saw Dexter and Cupid talking or holding hands. All three guys, however, groaned and rolled their eyes when they reached the Glass Slipper; Ashlynn Ella's shoe shop. Girls and their shoes! Sheesh!

xxXXxx

After dinner in the castleteria, Raven caught up with Dirk.

"Hey, big brother", she smiled. "How was your day?"

"Not bad", he smiled back. "All my weapons are in tip-top shape and ready for action. How about you?"

"Well, Arthur, Duncan, Clawdeen and helped Dexter finally see Cupid", she grinned. "So I'm thinking he's over me now. I'm sure she'll make him very happy."

"About bloody time!", he chuckled. "I've only been here a week, and even I could see how she's got it for him! How he never saw it before is beyond me!"

"I know, right?", she giggled. Then she got serious. "Tomorrow is visiting day, Dirk, and I thought you might want to come with me…to visit Mom?"

Dirk blinked in shock. He knew that their mother was trapped in mirror-prison, but he never imagined there was a way to see and speak to her!

"Absolutely!", he said. He had many questions for his mother.

"But when we see her, you need to be careful, Dirk!", Raven cautioned. "She's a master of manipulation! I've lost count of all the times and ways she's tried to use or manipulate me. She could easily try to do the same to you."

"Dad already told me all about her, Sis", he assured her. "But I'll follow your lead."

"You know", she said wistfully, "as evil and manipulative as she is…..she does seem to truly love and adore me…..in her own twisted kinda way."

"Yeah, Dad told me she was like that", he said. "Well, I guess we'll see how she likes me tomorrow, won't we?"

Just then, Blondie came on the mirror-net for her evening report.

"Good evening, fellow students! As you'll remember my late breaking report from last night, Arthur White and Raven Queen are dating and appear very much in love! Today, I went around to get your reactions to the royally rebellious romance!"

*cut*

"I think it's hexcellent", Dirk Knight smirked. "Raven is my sister, and if she's happy, then I'm happy for her. Besides, Arthur already knows that if he hurts her, he'll go from being a 'White' to being one big black&blue."

*cut*

"I feel for them", Cerise said before taking a bit out of a leg of mutton. "I mean, keeping secrets is hard."

*cut*

"A Royal and a Rebel?", Daring said when he paused during a sparring match. "To say nothing of a future hero and future villain. They're from two different worlds. Good luck to them."

*cut*

"We both think it's clawesome", Clawdeen said with a smile.

"Love knows no bounds", Duncan said, hugging closer to his mate. "We're living proof of that."

*cut*

"I don't know what to think", Apple said. "I love my brother, and Raven is my friend….well, frenemy, I guess. I worry what will happen if we don't follow our stories."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Dexter opens his eyes…..FINALLY! And now Arthur and Raven don't have to hide anymore.**

 **What do you think the Evil Queen will say to her son? Wait and see!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	63. Chapter 62: Break the Mirror

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter begins my version of the "Dragon Games" EAH story! Just to clarify, in my story the Evil Queen has the same hair, crown, jeweled arm-bracers, and dragon-riding gear as the EAH videos. However, her 'normal' gown resembles that of Maleficent in the Disney movie "Descendants". It's just a cooler and more 'evil' look in my opinion._**

 ** _Don't forget to check out my rated 'M' work, "You Make Lemoade" for Duncan and Clawdeen in his EAH dorm room!_**

 ** _Also a heads-up! Last chapter Dirk was considering some modifications to his hidden-blades. So any Assassin's Creed fans out there, let me know what mods you think he should add and why. I will make my decision next chapter. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 62: Break the Mirror

 _(MN) This was no ordinary day for Raven Queen And Dirk Knight._

 _(TP) Raven was finally mastering her magick._

 _(FN) Only she wasn't using her powers in a way that would please her evil mother._

 _(BP) Well, you know what they say, 'You can't judge a book by it's mother'._

Raven and Dirk were walking through the halls of Ever After High. They had somewhere to be, but kept running into classmates in need of Raven's magickal help for even the most mundane reasons.

"Raven", Cedar said, coming up to her. "I broke a nail, and gave **myself** a splinter."

"No problem, Cedar", Raven smiled, fixing the problem with a tiny flash of magick before moving on with her brother. Daring suddenly appeared looking distressed. His teeth were an uncharacteristic gritty grey tone.

"I roasted marshmallows with dragon-fire, and the soot stained my teeth", he said. Dirk face-palmed.

"If you ask me it's an improvement, Daring", Dirk smirked. "With your teeth like that, I don't feel like punching you in them for once."

Raven smiled and gently elbowed her brother as she returned Daring's lusterous smile with a wave of her hand. They didn't take more than two steps further when Blondie came rushing up holding her damaged mirror-pad.

"I dropped my mirror-pad and I can't film my mirrorcast this afternoon!"

A flash of magick, and it was fixed. Raven and Dirk tried to hurry away, when many more students clamored for her help.

"Whoa! Whoa! Everybody chill!", Dirk called out.

"Everyone, as much as I would love to, I can't do spells all day", Raven told them. Then she saw her boyfriend and roommate nearby. "Arthur! Apple!"

"Hi, Raven! Dirk!", Apple greeted them cheerfully as Arthur embraced Raven into a kiss.

"We are so late! You-know-who is gonna have an epic meltdown!" Raven said.

"Yeah, that would not be good!", Arthur said.

"*giggle!* Go-go-go-go! We've **got** this!", Apple said, turning to the needy students.

"I owe you one, Apple!", Raven said as she and Dirk hurried away.

"That's what friends forever after are for", Apple smiled as she and Arthur tried to help the billygoats out of Tiny's jar of jam.

They walked past Lizzie, Maddie, and Darling playing a game of cards.

"Good luck today, you two", Darling said.

"And keep away from the glass", Lizzie added.

"Thanks, guys", Raven said. Dirk turned back and blew a kiss at Darling, making her blush.

 _(MN) Visiting Day: the day Raven gets to see her mother in her mirror prison._

 _(TP) Dirk is going with her, to see his mother for the first time. So Raven and Dirk are_ _ **both**_ _nervous._

 _(BP) I'd be nervous too, if my mom were the Evil Queen!_

"Miss Queen, Mr. Knight", Milton said to them as they entered his office. He had a quill and waiver form ready. "Sign here, please."

They both signed quickly.

"Now remember, keep away…."

"From the glass", Raven finished. "We know, we know."

"Hmph!", Milton huffed as he reached under his desk to press a hidden button. A warning tone buzzed as a hidden door opened, and the siblings stepped through. They crossed a stairway-bridge to a nearby tower.

Raven opened the door at the end…..to be greeted by a large, purple dragon that spread it's wings and blew a jet of fire at the ceiling! Dirk gripped his sword to draw it, when Raven threw her arms wide, as if to hug the creature!

"Nevermore!", she cried happily. The dragon seemed to smile, then shrank down to the size of a medium dog to be petted happily by Raven. "Who's a good dragon? **You** are! Yes, **you** are, you good girl! Dirk, this is my pet dragon; Nevermore. Nevermore, this is Dirk. He's my brother."

Nevermore looked surprised then cautiously sniffed at the boy who shared her mistress' coloring. Then she smiled and licked his face.

"Hey!", he chuckled. "It's nice to meet you, too, girl!"

Nevermore then gave them a worried purr.

"Don't worry", Raven told her as all three went up the spiralling tower stairs. "I can handle mom. Dirk, you might want to wait out of sight for a minute when we get to the top. Let me tell her you're here?"

"Like I said before, I'll follow your lead on this, Sis", he smiled warmly.

Once they reached the top, Raven and Nevermore entered the room, to see a wicked looking standing mirror showing only swirling purple smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal the Evil Queen on an exercise bike.

"Raven!", she said happily when she saw her daughter.

"Hi, Mom."

"I've been waiting forever after!", she said as smoke swirled again, and a moment later she appeared again, now in her evil royal gown. "How do I look?"

"You look great, Mom", Raven said. "I have someone with me to see you, Mom."

"Really? Who is it?", she asked, even though she knew full well who it was. Raven beckoned Dirk to come in. He stepped up the last of the stairs into the room.

"Hello…Mother."

"Dirk! My little boy has finally come to Ever After High", she said in a fawning tone. "You've grown into a strong and handsome young man, just like your father. How is your father?"

"He's good. Enjoying retirement", he said. "He still speaks of you often."

"You have both often been in my thoughts as well."

"Mom, why did you never tell me I had a brother?", Raven asked pointedly.

"Dirk's father and I both had our destinies to live", the Evil Queen said. "That was hard enough without….complicating things. I am happy to see the two of you together at last, my children! So how's school for both of you?"

"School's great, actually", Raven said, and Dirk nodded in agreement.

"Have you been a bad boy and girl?", their mother asked. Dirk smirked slightly, given that while not really being **bad** , he hadn't exactly been **good** , either.

"Well…I…", Raven stammered.

"I **know** you've been using your powers for **good** , Raven; **helping** others", she said in a slightly hurt tone. "Where did I go wrong?"

"Things have changed, Mom! It's not like back when you went to school here", Raven implored her. "We can choose our own destiny!"

"I know one thing hasn't changed…..it's better to be **feared** than forgotten!"

"It's true", Dirk drolled. "Everyone fears you, Mom."

"Thank you! Get me out of here, and I'll show you both the way", their mother said conspiratorially. "We'll rule side-by-side. We'll take over Ever After High **together!** It'll be a great bonding experience! Like shopping, or a day at the beach, only…..world domination!"

"Take over the school?", Raven said, her anger rising, causing her magick to flare with increasing intensity. "Why would I want to hurt my friends?"

"Don't you get it?! I **never** want to be like you!", Raven shouted, her voice distorted with power, her magick flaring out of control, her eyes glowing like purple fire. **_"I want to choose my own happily-ever-after!"_**

Raven's magick was flaring off of her in bolts in every direction, with Dirk and Nevermore dodging them!

"Let out that aggression! Go on!", their mother shouted over the din of the out of control magick and the damage it was causing. "Hit the **glass** , Raven!"

Dirk and Nevermore suddenly jumped between Raven and the mirror. Dirk grabbed his sister's shoulders.

"Control yourself, Sis!", he shouted, snapping her out of her rage. Her magick immediately calmed.

"Oh! Dirk!", their mother yelled in frustration, scaring Nevermore, making her crash into some shelves. The old paint cans there fell on her, splattering different colors all over her.

"Nice try, Mom", Raven chuckled. "You want us to break the mirror."

"You're not getting out **that** easily", Dirk smirked.

"Can't blame an evil queen for **trying** ", she chuckled.

"*ahem* Visiting hours are **over!** ", Milton Grimm said as he entered, having been alerted by the commotion.

"Just one more question", Dirk said firmly. "Did you love my dad?"

"*sigh* Yes, I did, Dirk", the Queen admitted. "And a small part of me still does, deep in my evil, black heart."

After everyone left, the Evil Queen turned from her side of the mirror.

"Oh, I'll find a way to break this mirror. And then Ever After will be facing a lot worse than seven years of bad luck….count on it!"

xxXXxx

"Is mom **always** that….intense?", Dirk asked once they were back down in the school at their lockers. Granted, it was still the weekend, but many students still had studying, leftover homework, reseach, or activities to do before classes resume the next day.

"Yeah, pretty much", Raven admitted. "Sorry about that."

"*pfft!* Forget about it. Nothing I can't handle", he said. "Catch you later, Sis? Arthur asked me and Duncan to help him out with his weapon's training."

"Sure, Dirk", she smiled, petting Nevermore. "And if I see him before you do, I'll send him your way."

"After you kiss him, of course", he smirked, making his sister blush. He ran off before she could retort.

"Hey, Raven!", Poppy said as she arrived with her twin sister.

"Hey, guys."

"How was visiting day?", Poppy asked.

"Aw. What happened to you, girl?", Holly asked Nevermore, who was still splattered with paint.

"Don't ask", Raven said dryly.

"*giggle* Someone sure needs a bath!", Poppy laughed, while the purple dragon enjoyed the attention.

"My mom really spooked Nevermore", Raven explained. "She wound up with a bit of a messy makeover."

"We could groom Nevermore for you", Holly offered.

"Sounds like a job for Holly and Poppy!", Poppy said.

"The O'Hair Twins!", Holly finished.

xxXXxx

It was a beautiful white, six-wheeled limo with gold trim driving down the road to a royal corporate headquarters. A tall, beautiful, black-haired, blue-eyed woman wearing a white royal gown trimmed with gold, a red cape, and gold tiara trimmed with rubies stepped out when it stopped, attended by dwarves in business-suits.

 _(FN) There she is….Queen of the land, the fairest of them all, the mother of Apple and Arthur White…._

 _(MN) She's also a very powerful royal executive. She employs over 700 dwarves! The one and only,_ _ **the**_ _Snow White._

After being greeted by the local birds, she began to walk inside.

"How's my enchanted video series selling?", she asked. A silver-haired dwarf showed her a chart with a 'cha-ching!'.

"Hexcellent! My children will live comfortably ever after", she said as she stepped inside and boarded an elevator to the executive floor.

"By the way, how are Apple and Arthur doing in school?"

Another dwarf showed her a file on a mirror-pad.

"Straight A's! Perfect. What about socially? How are their ratings?"

The same, red-haired dwarf scrolled a few windows on the pad and showed her the results.

"Arthur is tied at the top with Daring Charming, very good. And Apple's popularity is….down?! Then who is…?(she puts on her reading glasses) **Raven** is up?! This is fairy, fairy bad news! Set up a video call to my daughter."

xxXXxx

Apple and Arthur were studying together in her dorm room. Like their mother, both needed glasses to read up close. Arthur had plans for later, but had time to kill until then.

Apple's mirror-pad pinged, and their mother appeared on video.

"Once upon a hi, Mom!", Apple said cheerfully, removing her glasses.

"Hey, Mom!", Arthur piped up with a smile. Inwardly, he was nervous. Their mom didn't normally watch Blondie's reports, but the timing was questionable to him. He had convinced Apple not to say anything, but there was nothing to stop either of their parents from finding out about him and Raven if they actively wanted to find out.

"Oh, good! Your brother is with you!", Snow said happily. "Apple, I am fairy concerned about you. There's no easy way to say this, Apple-pie, but your popularity is down 13%!"

"I-it's Raven! Everyone **loves** her now that she's using her powers for-for **good** ", Apple said, sounding a little distressed. "Mom, it's terrible!"

"Sis!", Arthur scolded.

"You need to be proactive, my little dove", her mom told her. "Remind the world of our fairytale. Perhaps there's some way you could… **nudge** Raven toward evil?"

"Mom!", Arthur was shocked their mom would even suggest such a thing!

"I-I wouldn't do that", Apple said.

"Remember, she is her mother's daughter. And so are you", Snow reminded her, then her tone shifted to slightly stern. "So ask yourself, how badly do you want our happily ever after?"

"Mom, you know how much I heart our family tradition!", Apple said defensively.

"Sometimes destiny needs a **push** , my sweet. I'll see what I can do from here to give you a boost", Snow told her, then, "Arthur, I leave it to you to help her from your end."

"I'll think about it, mom", Apple said.

"Ok, Mom", Arthur said. Apple 'hung up' the call then, and the White twins shrugged to each other.

Back at Snow White's office, the Queen sprang into action.

"Gather all business dwarves! Put a task-force together! It's time to make this Apple **shine!** "

xxXXxx

The door opened, and Raven stepped in. Arthur smiled as she walked into his embrace and they shared a deep, loving kiss.

"Hi, Raven", Apple said after her roommate and brother broke their kiss.

"Hi, Apple", she replied, sounding kinda down. "Arthur, my brother is waiting to help you with your weapons training."

"Thanks, Sweetie", he said, giving her a peck on the cheek. "See you later."

"So….how was seeing your mom?", Apple asked in a hopeful tone once Arthur was gone, as Raven walked to the window. "Are you feeling any evil-er?"

"What? No! Uh, maybe. I don't know", Raven said, still a bit disconcerted from the visit. Thank goodness Nevermore and Dirk were with her! Ironic that after she warned Dirk about their mom, it was **her** that was almost provoked into doing something terrible! "My mom makes me wanna scream sometimes."

"That's good! That's good!", Apple said, surprising Raven. "Maybe scream, and then, mmmm…. **explode** something with dark magick!"

Raven smiled as she figured out what was up with her roommate.

"Sounds like I'm not the only princess who got an earful from her mom today", Raven smiled sympathetically. "So how's she doing?"

"She's worried that I'm not following in her fairytale footsteps", Apple said as she slumped next to Raven at the windowsill.

"Hm. That's the one thing your mom and my mom can agree on", Raven grumbled, to which Apple just nodded.

xxXXxx

Later that night, Raven was sleeping soundly. Apple, however, was still awake; playing a game on her mirror-pad. She couldn't sleep, the talk with her mother still eating at her. When she lost her current round on the game, she sighed and put it aside. She stood and walked over to her standing mirror.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, why is life so unfairest after all?", she asked sadly. On the flip-side of the mirror, the Evil Queen grinned maliciously.

"I spy doubt", she said to herself, using her magick to conjure a glowing apple. "And doubt makes room for the worm to get into the apple."

Apple was surprised when an apple, glowing with red and magenta magickal flames, emerged from her mirror.

"Follow me", it said in an eerie, almost spectral voice, then again more urgently, "Follow me."

It floated to one of the thick tree limbs that was part of a wall, and apple followed….right into a yellow portal that opened in the limb, which closed behind her.

A secret door opened in the tower that Raven and Dirk had visited earlier that day, and Apple stepped through it into the room. The floating apple stopped glowing and dropped into her hands.

"You poor thing", a voice said. Apple looked around, then saw the Evil Queen appear in the mirror. "Tell me your troubles."

"I can't talk to you", Apple replied, afraid.

"Oh, Apple, we have so much more in common than you know", the Evil Queen said.

"What-what do you want?", Apple asked curiously, her fear receding slightly.

"The same thing **you** want!", she said. "I **could** help you, you know. I can restore things to the good old ways, steer Raven on her course of evil, with her brother Dirk by her side. So you get your happily-ever-after. But I **can't** do it from **inside** the mirror."

"Even if I trusted you, I can't let you out of the mirror", Apple said, turning away. "That would be wrong."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were like your **mother** ", the Evil Queen said derisively. "When her time came, your mother **embraced** her fairytale destiny. She did whatever it took!"

"I am **not** afraid!" Apple said, turning back to face her again as her anger rose. "I will do **whatever** it takes, and I **am** like my mother! And my destiny is **mine!** "

With that, Apple White threw the apple she was still holding at the Evil Queen, shattering the mirror! The shards of glass burst forth in a cloud of purple smoke, and the sinister laughter of the Evil Queen. She stepped through the smoke to smile at the trembling Apple White, as lightning flashed outside.

 _(BP) The Evil Queen is free!_

 _(FN) Yes, after years of banishment…._

 _(TP) …the Evil Queen escaped…._

 _(MN) ….and at Apple White's hand, no less!_

Elsewhere in the castle, both Duncan and Clawdeen awoke snarling. They looked at each other in concern.

"Did you feel that?", Duncan asked her, as if to confirm his own senses.

"Kinda hard to miss", she said. "Like something powerful and evil just surged in power."

"And suddenly disappeared", he said. "As if it just did a fly-by…."

"Or it's hiding itself", she affirmed.

"Nothing we can do, until we can sense it again", he said. "Let's go back to sleep. I think we're gonna need it."

Back in the tower, the Evil Queen bent down to pick up the apple, which now had a shard of the mirror imbedded in it. She smiled at her reflection in the shard.

"Years in a mirror-prison with out a single reflective surface to gaze at myself upon", she said. "Now **that's** torture."

"I'm sorry. I need to go", Apple said nervously. "Y-you're good, right? Er…Bad? I-I can't help you."

"Too late", the Evil Queen said snidely. "Do you want your friends or your mother to know you released the Evil Queen?"

"You can't just walk into school and talk to Raven and Dirk!" Apples reminded her. "What happens when someone recognizes you? I'll get in trouble and…."

"Good point", the Queen said as she pulled the shard out of the apple. "I'll need to re-invent my look to blend in with today's teens. Let's make some magick."

She levitated the apple and turned it back into magickal energy. She absorbed it into her body as she spoke her spell, swirled in purple smoke:

 _"From old to young, a jouney back,_

 _To fit in would be prudent._

 _Erase what Time's cruel hands have done,_

 _Make_ _ **me**_ _a high school student!"_

"I'll need a name", she said as the smoke cleared. The Evil Queen was now just a bit taller than Apple, with long, red and Magenta hair, green&lavender shadowed purple eyes, magenta lips, and a slight tan. She was now wearing a short-sleeved, black top with a purple gem in the center. Her puffy, white skirt ended just above her knees, and had a chain-belt. Both the top and skirt were trimmed with black lace resembling broken/cracked glass. Her voice also took on a younger, slightly higher pitch. "How about Mira? Mira Shards."

"You're…..a teenager", Apple said in shock. The Evil Queen wrapped an arm around her as is they were old friends.

"Ready, my new best friend forever after?", she smirked. "Time to go back to high school. Let's do this!"

Lightning crashed again.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Sorry this chapter took longer than usual, but as I am now adapting the "Dragon Games" EAH story line, my work is slowing down a bit. You might think that going from an already existing story would be easier, but think again! The tricky part is adapting it in a way that includes my OC's, and Duncan & Clawdeen, and still makes sense and works well for the story! So please don't be mad if it takes a little longer for me to post these chapters.**

 **My chapters also may not exactly mirror(no pun intended. LOL!) those of the videos. For example, I'm ending this one here. So my version will probably have more chapters in total.**

 **Don't forget to give me your votes for hidden-blade mods for Dirk! I will make my choice(s) in a chapter or two!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	64. Chapter 63: Hatch the Dragons

**_He, Everyone! A lot going on in this chapter! Peter Trapper II is my OC. With all the OC's I've made for this arc, I just may have to write a separate EAH story later on!_**

Chapter 63: Hatch the Dragons

"It's great that you could come visit, Cousin Pete", Hunter said as they entered the Castleteria for breakfast. With him was his cousin, wearing a forest-green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows with a black vest, jeans and snakeskin boots. His long, brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, topped by a dark grey, leather cowboy hat. Hanging from his belt was a lassoe and a hunting knife.

Xxxxxx

 _( &-first riff of the "Bonanza" theme-&)_

 ** _Peter Trapper II, Son of Peter from "Peter and the Wolf"._**

Xxxxxx

"Well, Dad thought I should check it out before deciding if I want to attend", Pete smiled. "This place is pretty cool from what I've seen so far, and so are all your friends. *chuckle* That monster couple are awesome! Too bad they're only temporary exchange students."

"Yeah, Duncan and Clawdeen are cool", Hunter agreed. "A lot of us are going to miss them when they go home."

"Whoa! Who is **she?** ", Peter asked in a smitten tone, pointing across the room. Hunter looked, and saw it was the table where Darling and Cerise were sitting. "The one in the red hood?"

"That's Cerise Hood, Daughter of Red Riding-Hood", Hunter told him. "Don't get your hopes too high, Cuz. She likes to keep to herself most of the time."

"I hear ya", he replied. "But I just gotta **meet** her! Soon!"

"Hey, Sis!", Arthur called to Apple while she and Mira were looking for seats. "I'll catch you at lunch! I'm putting in some extra time in the armory this morning!"

"Ok, Arthur", she replied, just as they reached Darling and Cerise. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet the new girl, my old friend; Mira."

"What's up, new friends?", Mira grinned.

"I'm Darling. Darling Charming", the platinum-blonde said. "How do you two know each other?"

"Summer camp", Mira said.

"Hi! I'm Cerise Hood. What school did you…?"

"I was home-schooled", Mira said.

"I know how that is", Dirk said as he arrived. He smiled and winked at Darling, making her blush slightly. There were a few others behind Dirk.

"Well, hello! I'm Ashlynn, that's Lizzie, Clawdeen, Duncan, and Raven", Ashlynn said, the others nodding or waving as they were introduced. "And you already met Dirk. I love your outfit."

"You look wicked", Raven smiled.

"You're Raven Queen?! And Dirk Knight?!", Mira said excitedly. "You two are like spellebrities! The son and daughter of the two **greatest** villains in all of fairytale history?!"

"Who, our mom? Yeah, she's a queen", Raven said, rolling her eyes.

"A drama queen", Dirk finished with a smirk. "And my dad regretted his life as a villain. He's proud of me not going down that road."

Mira looked surprised, then a bit downcast. Just then, Holly and Poppy arrived with a clean and well groomed Nevermore, who was wearing a large, pink bow on her head.

"Well, What do you think?", Poppy asked proudly. "All cleaned up."

"Nevermore!", Raven hugged her pet. "Oh, she looks very…."

"Bow-dacious!", Holly giggled.

"Wow, Raven, your dragon is so cute!", Mira smirked.

Nevermore looked at the newcomer, and her eyes widened in recognition. She squawked and recoiled in fear, growing to full-size, screeching as she dashed around the castleteria blowing fire in a panicked state! Multiple students were forced to dodge or take cover from her bursts of flames. Duncan sprang into action to try catching and calming her. Headmaster Grimm entered from the upper-level, and had to duck to avoid a blast of fire. Duncan then managed to tackle the dragon and get her outside.

"Miss Queen! What was your animal doing in the castleteria?!", Grimm shouted.

"I-I'm sorry!", Raven apologized. "It won't happen again, Headmaster Grimm."

A short distance behind her, 'Mira' chuckled to herself.

xxXXxx

A short time later, Raven was walking in the hall toward her next class.

"Hey Raven, are you ok?", Mira asked, catching up to her.

"Yeah. I don't know what's gotten into Nevermore", Raven said, puzzled. "She doesn't normally spook like that."

"That was unfairest of Grimm to bust you like that", Mira said in a sympathetic tone. "Why didn't you blame Holly and Poppy? **They** brought your dragon into the castleteria."

"Uh, that's not what friends do", Raven replied. Just then the bell rang for class. "Well, I gotta meet my brother in General Villainy class."

"Actually, I'm in that class. Maybe you two could show me the ropes?", Mira said hopefully.

"Sure", Raven smiled. "Let's go."

As Raven led the way, Mira smiled malevolently behind her.

Mira sat with Raven and Dirk in class, as Professor Badwolf was handing back corrected tests.

"Here are your General Villainy exam results", he growled, then as he handed the tests back to the children of the Evil Queen, "Room for improvement, Miss Queen! You, too, Mr. Knight."

"Cast a spell on the teacher and get straight A's", Mira whispered conspiratorially. "That's what **_I_** did in school."

"Wait, I thought you were home-schooled?', Raven said suspiciously.

"Talking in class, huh?!(snarl) Encouraging cheating?!", Professor Badwolf growled turning sharply on them. Then he grinned. "Raven, Dirk…you two should stick to this new girl, you could learn a thing or two."

xxXXxx

In Heroics 101, Mira took a turn at playing 'villain' in 'Save the Damsel in Distress' as Daring took the field. After he defeated the minions and dragon, he started across the bridge to 'capture the villain', only for Mira to use her magick to drop his pants in mid-stride. Daring tripped and fell; splashing hillariously into the moat. Dirk could not help himself, laughing hysterically at his humiliated rival. His mirth made Mira smile with pride.

'He truly is my son', she thought to herself.

xxXXxx

"Candy-cane pole-vault", Coach Gingerbreadman smiled in gym class. "This old gingerbreadman is about to show you how to take the cake!"

As he ran toward the bar with his candy-cane, Mira elbowed Raven and Dirk to get their attention. She then smiled wickedly, magicking the candy-cane as the coach vaulted, extending it greatly until he fell into the basketball hoop behind the landing pad. All three laughed at the funny scene, while Apple looked uncomfortable.

"Raven Queen! Was that you?!", the coach demanded from the hoop.

"No, sir!", she said honestly, then softly so only Dirk and Mira could hear, "Oh, but I kinda wish it **was!** "

'That's my nasty little blackbird!', Mira thought to herself, grinning.

xxXXxx

At lunch, Mira was sitting with Raven, Dirk, and Apple talking.

"Hey, Sis. Hey, Dirk", Arthur greeted as he came over, then leaned down to kiss Raven. "Hi, Raven."

"Hi", she smiled warmly as he sat down next to her.

"Who's your friend?", Arthur asked.

"Mira Shards", she introduced herself with an arched eye-brow. Then she saw Dirk look up and smile at the approach of Darling and Cerise. Mira put her hand on the empty seats next to her.

"We're saving these seats", she said snidely. "Sorry."

The two girls looked insulted, but walked away without saying anything. They saw some seats at another table with Duncan and Clawdeen. They were also sitting with Ashlynn, Hunter, and Peter.

"That wasn't fairy nice", Raven said. "Darling and Cerise are my friends."

"Not to mention I kinda like Darling", Dirk added. "She's…..not like the rest of her family."

'What the hex is **this** now?', the disguised Evil Queen thought to herself. 'My dark little Dirk, too? This won't do at all!'

"Nice will only get you so far", Mira said. "To be **really** popular, you need a little 'fear factor'. Right, Apple?"

"Um, I….suppose there's truth in that", the daughter of Snow White said, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh Raven, don't freak out", Poppy said as she and her twin arrived. They were both wearing makeshift protective padding and 'helmets'. "But we were trying a new scale polish on Nevermore and well….she took off."

"We set up a grooming station in the old dragon stables behind the school", Holly added. "That's the last place we saw her. We thought maybe if **you** call her…"

"….Maybe she's just hiding somewhere and would come out!", Poppy finished. "We're really sorry."

"Thanks for getting me", Raven said as she stood up. "Let's go."

"We'll come, too", Duncan said as he stepped over with Clawdeen at his side. "I can take to the air and get an aerial view."

"And I can track anything anywhere", Clawdeen added, proudly tapping her sensitive nose.

"That's great", Arthur said.

"We're happy to have the help", Dirk smiled.

xxXXxx

Cerise was confused and had no idea what to do. Hunter's cousin seemed like a nice guy when they met at lunch….maybe a little too nice. She had a feeling that he was attracted to her. He was kinda cute himself, and seemed to have a good heart from what she could sense from him. But knowing who he was made things…awkward, given her secret!

She knew what her family would likely say: "avoid him at all costs!", which would be the **smart** move. But there was a gi-huge-ic problem. She felt a tug at her heart the moment her eyes met his. In that moment, it felt to her like the rest of the world dropped away as if it never existed. It felt the same way her dad had described meeting her mom for the first time. That could only mean one thing; wolf imprinting! It could neither be changed or denied, if her parents or Duncan and Clawdeen were any indication.

She **really** wanted to talk to Raven about this, but she was busy searching for her missing pet dragon.

xxXXxx

All the searchers were repeatedly calling Nevermore in the hope she would show herself. Duncan scanned the whole area of the valley behind the school, then joined the others on the ground when he found nothing. They were all now in some old ruins near the old dragon stables.

"Wow! The old dragongames arena", Apple said, impressed.

"Dragongames sound wicked!", Mira smirked. "Have you ever played, Raven? You **have** a dragon."

"I know", Raven said. "But dragongames was my mom's thing. And I really don't want to be like her."

Mira slumped and looked disappointed.

"Why did Headmaster Grimm close the dragon center down?". Apple wondered.

"You mean, you don't know?", Holly asked. She then accessed her mirror-pad to show pictures of Snow White, the Evil Queen, Prince Charming, and the Black Knight all riding dragons in the games. "Dragongames could be very dangerous. They say Snow White and the Evil Queen were the greatest dragongames captains ever after."

"They were wicked competitive, as were their star players; Prince Charming and the Black Knight, what with their destinies and all", Poppy added.

"Did you know that Legend, the school mascot, is the last dragon from that original brood?", Holly said.

"I smell fresh dragon", Clawdeen announced, just before a roar rang out from the old stables. "Coming from **that** way."

"That's a dragon cry", Mira said.

"Nevermore!", Raven cried as they all ran to the stables.

A moment after they all entered, a dog-sized Nevermore emerged from a haystack to happily lick Raven's face in greeting.

"Oh, there you are!", Raven said happily, hugging her pet.

Hearing a low growl of discomfort, they all looked over to see Daring kneeling next to Legend, who appeared to not be feeling well. Seeing Daring so concerned for Legend, even Dirk's opinion of the vain prince went up a few notches.

"Something is wrong with Legend", he told them worriedly. Holly and Poppy knelt down to look after Daring stepped aside.

"Body temperature seems really high", Holly said.

"Does that mean he's really sick?", Daring asked anxiously.

Mira, however, knew exactly what was 'wrong' with the mature dragon.

"News-flash, Daring", she smirked. "Your trusty steed isn't a 'he'. She's a 'she'. And she's **not** sick."

The other girls figured it out immediately.

"I think it's time!", Poppy said in a sing-song voice, and all the girls 'aaaaaw'-ed and giggled, which clued in Dirk and Duncan.

"What time?", Daring asked, still clueless. Dirk face-palmed while Duncan just shook his head.

"Jeez, Daring, are you **really** that thick?", Dirk asked. "Even **_I_** know what they mean!"

Daring shrugged.

"*ahem*", Mira scoffed, then rocked her folded arms like a craddle.

"Oh! **That** time!", Daring said, finally figuring it out…..just before he fainted.

xxXXxx

They all returned to the stable a few hours later, after classes were done for the day; to find that Legend had laid a sizable clutch of eggs.

"My dragon 'cousin', Jinafire, told me a while back that Western dragons that have not yet attained humanoid form usually lay their eggs near active volcanoes to warm them until they hatch", Duncan told everyone. "It can take years in some cases."

"Baby dragons must be so cute!", Poppy gushed.

"Aw, I can't wait that long!", Apple said.

"I _**could**_ cast a spell to keep the eggs warm", Raven suggested. "If you could give a few 'start-up' flames, Duncan?"

"Hot idea", he said. He exhaled a small jet of flames around the nest.

" _Incubation incantation, warm with lava imitation_ ", Raven chanted, her magick merging with Duncan's fire to cover the eggs with purple flames.

Behind everyone, a malevolent smile split Mira's face.

'This spell could use a power up', she thought, sending a flare of power discreetly along the floor, causing the magickal flames to blaze up out of control! Everyone jumped back in surprise.

"I must've overdone it!", Raven cried, grabbing an extinguisher and snuffing the flames. As she breathed in relief, the flames flared up again on half of the eggs. She again snuffed the flames.

Half the eggs were now pastel-colored with lace-like markings, the other half were black with flame-like markings. A cracking sound began to come from the nest.

"Raven, look! Those lighter eggs are hatching", Apple pointed out.

"I want the cutest one!", Poppy said.

"This is magickal!", Holly added.

Dragon hatchlings began to pop out of their eggs, chirping playfully. They were varying combinations of pastel colors and white, most with blue or green eyes. They began to romp around the legs of everyone there. One bounced over to Daring(who had fainted again!) and licked his face, waking him. Poppy and Holly were each holding one that was lavender and pink respectively, while an ivory and pink female with golden horns happily hopped up into Apple's arms.

"They're adorable", Clawdeen gushed.

"Yeah, they are", Duncan agreed, feeling a bit of kinship with the newborns; kinda like he had with Jinafire. "And it looks like Nevermore is gonna be a good aunty."

Nevermore playfully tumbled around with the hatchlings while Legend looked on. Then more cracking came from the nest as the black eggs began to hatch. Black hatchlings emerged in small blasts of flame, squawking mischieviously. All were black with red eyes, some with red flame-like markings on their wings, some with blue; except one with green eyes and both red **and** blue markings.

"This is bad!", Holly said anxiously. "It got too hot! That can make them turn….!"

"Evil!", Apple said fearfully. "Raven, are you trying to make evil dragons?!"

"What have I done?!", Raven cried.

"Hey! Just because they're **dark** , doesn't mean they're **evil!** ", Dirk said defensively. He stepped toward them confidently. The green-eyed one looked up at him, growled and shot a puff of flames. When Dirk didn't flinch, the little dragon seemed to smile and jumped into his arms. "See? They might not be as friendly, but they're not born evil."

"Dirk is right", Duncan said. "They might be more aggressive, but I don't sense any evil from them."

"And think about this", Clawdeen said. "In our world, normies….I mean humans, used to think _**all**_ monsters were evil, just because we look and act different. Now, we co-exist peacefully for the most part."

"And you like **me** , don'tcha, boy?", Dirk cooed to the one in his arms. It reached up and licked his face affectionately. "I think I'll name you….Shadow-Wing!"

xxXXxx

"This is Blondie Lockes reporting live from the dragon stables at Ever After High, where dragons once again roam the hallowed halls", Blondie began her live report the day after the hatching. Various students were there as well, playing with the hatchlings. "It would seem the students are eager to adopt these pesky pets!(a baby-blue & aqua hatchling with pink wings playfully blows ice at Darling, freezing her teddy-bear to her hand for a moment) But the trend seems to be that a **dragon** chooses **you**."

An aqua and magenta hatchling lands in Maddie's arms and puffs magic in her face, instantly fluffing her hair up in a new style and coloring it like: "Cotton candy? Oh yum-dee-dum!", the Hatter giggled.

Dirk was feeding Shadow-Wing, when Apple approached the stall that the other dark hatchlings had taken over. One growled and puffed fire at her. Apple retreated, and was comforted by the ivory girl that seemed to adopt her yesterday. Hadrian laughed, and the bold little black dragon jumped up into his arms.

Legend showed a few how to puff smoke. When they tried to imitate her, they accidentally blasted Daring, Dexter, and Hopper right out of the stable. Dirk struggled to stifle his laughter, as they weren't injured and it **was** funny.

Outside, Raven saw Mira flying around on Nevermore!

"Raven! You **have** to try this!", she called as she flew by. "Nevermore is a natural! Woohoo!"

"-Who will be the next champions of dragonsport?", Blondie asked, about to wrap-up her report. "Only time will tell."

Watching back in her office was Snow White. She had decided to catch up on Blondie's more recent reports to see what she could do to help her children. She already planned to 'have a word' with Arthur concerning his…..relationship with Raven Queen. But right now she saw 'Mira' riding Nevermore as if she'd been a dragonrider for years, and recognized her!

"Why you wicked old thing!", she smiled slyly. "Welcome back. Summon the architects! I've just had the fairest idea of all. This will should get Apple back on top, and freshen my pure-as-snow image, too!"

xxXXxx

A few days passed, and all the students were called to the auditorium for an assembly. Sitting with Apple, Raven, and Arthur; Mira was impatient and suspicious.

"What is with the sudden assembly?", she asked.

"It's top secret", Raven shrugged.

"I heard there's a special guest!", Blondie said behind them.

"Ooh, this is hexciting!", Apple gushed.

Down on the stage, Headmaster Grimm stepped out to the center.

"It is my honor to welcome back our most successful graduate", he spoke in a loud, fawning tone. "Our beloved Queen, Snow White!"

He stepped aside as the smiling queen to center-stage, to much cheering from the crowd. Birds flew over to greet her, which appeared to be the norm for her. Duncan face-palmed at the cheezy cliché. He also wondered where Clawdeen was. She had been busy with Lizzie Hearts the last couple days on some secret project.

"What is she up to?", Apple asked. Arthur 'hmmmm'ed, while Mira scowled.

"A little bird told me that dragons have returned to my beloved alma mater", Snow announced sweetly. "So it's time we restored the good old ways. Today, the Dragongames are reinstated at Ever After High!"

The room erupted in cheers and applause. Snow continued after it died down.

"The Dragongames are tough, yet elegant", she said. "And I want my Ever After High riders to be dressed accordingly. I've hired the creative team of Lizzie Hearts and Clawdeen Wolf to design all new dragon wear."

The two girls were lifted up on a platform through a trap-door in the stage and waved as the curtains opened to reveal a large mirror-screen, so everyone even in the way-back of the crowd could see. Duncan had to smirk as he applauded. He should've known!

Then Holly, Poppy, and Dirk walked down some curved steps to the stage from behind the screen. Each of them was wearing a different style of partial armor and bracers over leather. The crowd cheered, 'ooh'-ed and 'aaww'ed, and multiple camera flashes.

"These looks are lightweight, flexible, and fashion-forward", Lizzie smiled.

"Not to mention, these fierce designs are also fireproof, iceproof, and explosion resistant", Clawdeen grinned, and winked up at Duncan. Just then Hunter tossed a baby dragon toward Holly, breathing fire at her. She blocked it with her bracers easily and caught the hatchling. Then Sparrow did the same to Poppy, this dragon breathed ice; again easily blocked with her bracers. Lastly, Darling tossed Dirk's black hatchling at him, which blasted him in the chest-plate. The Son of the Black Knight laughed as he caught his pet unharmed.

"Adorable", Snow smiled, taking center-stage again. "Now, I can't very well bring back dragonriding in an old, dilapidated arena. If you'll all follow me outside….."

xxXXxx

"Allow me to present the brand new Ever After High Dragon Center!", Snow announced as they all entered. It had been rebuilt into a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility and stadium. The central staging area hugged the far side of the arena. It was dominated by two huge dragon staues with steps up their 'tails' to their heads, one black, one white, each holding a turnable hour-glass. Between them was a jumbo mirror-screen. On either side of the central steps to the main plarform were the gated 'dug-outs' for the teams of dragons & riders. It was through these that the teams would enter or leave the arena.

The students and faculty all applauded as the Queen ascended the stairs, then turned and smiled at the top.

"Hold your applause, please", she smiled. "I must admit, this was not my idea. My daughter, Apple, thought bringing back the dragongames would unite everyone with school spirit!"

Looking uncomfortable, Apple joined her mother to the cheers and applause of everyone.

"Wow! Mom….*nervous chuckle* Why didn't you tell me about all this?", she asked so only Snow could hear. "Why did you say it was **my** idea when it wasn't?"

"Oh! You're welcome my little Apple Dumpling", Snow smiled.

"But, Mom, it's a lie", Apple said.

"We discussed this", Snow kept smiling for the clapping crowd. "Sometimes you have to pull out all the stops and use your resources to get your fairtale back on track."

"Whoa. Mira was right", Apple said, surprised. "We **are** different."

"Who?", Snow asked.

 **"ME!"** , Mira shouted, cutting through the applause as she stepped forward, the crowd gasping. "And you can't always just **buy** popularity, Snow."

"Miss Shards!", Milton admonished. "Mind your manners!"

"-'Mira Shards'. Oh *chuckle* Very clever.", Snow smiled knowingly. "Rumor has it that you're an excellent dragonrider. For a new a new kid on the block."

"The rumor is true", Mira sneered.

"Only you're not a student", Snow chuckled. "You might have been once(Apple gasped) back when **we** were in school. I'd know that arched eye-brow anywhere."

Apple gulped, but most of the crowd looked confused.

"I just wanted to be **closer** to my children!", Mira said firmly. " **You** can understand **that**."

"Children?", Raven whispered, as she and Dirk exchanged a look. It couldn't be!

"And to be young again, maybe?", Snow giggled.

"You'd have done it too, if you could", Mira accused. "So I suppose now you're going to send me back to that awful mirror prison?"

"MOM?!", Raven and Dirk exclaimed together. Mira turned to grin at them.

"Sorry, Kiddies", she smirked, as purple smoke swirled around her, returning her to her true form! "Guilty as charged!"

The entire crowd gasped in shock and fear. Duncan and Clawdeen snarled as they leaped to Dirk and Raven's side; **this** was what they sensed the other night!

"Yay! The Evil Queen's here!", Maddie cheered, then glowered. "Said no one **ever!** "

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Whew! This one was a bit tricky, but I got it done! I've had some of my readers and supporters suggest that Duncan be able to speak and understand 'dragon-tongue'. While this would've been cool, and I have mentioned that Jinafire is teaching Duncan to speak dragon, it would have made this arc too complicated, as he could've just asked Nevermore what was going on right off the bat, rather than the story just unfolding. So instead, for now Duncan only has a basic affinity for dragons, and dragons are comfortable around him.**

 **As for Dirk modifying his hidden-blades; I've made my choices, but they will not be seen until later.**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	65. Chapter 64

**_Hey, Everyone! I'm starting this chapter with some 'news from the home-front' as it were. I want to thank my loyal readers real quick; both members and guests! One or two have pointed out that I seem to be drifting away from Duncan and Clawdeen in this arc. As this arc is basically my version of the actual EAH Dragongames story, I include them as much as I can in a way that makes sense….mostly. Don't worry! They both have major roles to play that will be showcased soon! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 64

(Monster High world)

"So the kaiju boy and his werewolf girlfriend are **both** now trapped in another realm until some magic mirrors are repaired", Van Hellscream said. "And this is important because?"

"I-I don't know, Uncle", Lilith stammered. "You told me to tell you everything I could find out."

"Of course, my dear", he replied. "You have done well so far, Lilith. Keep up the good work. Soon, we will have everything in place to implement my plans."

Van Hellscream had to admit, his niece had relayed a great deal of useful information. Including very troubling things, like such as the existence of eight other hybrid monsters besides the half-human kaiju boy and the Jekyll/Hyde boy. With that many in one school alone, they must be more common than he originally thought, making them dangerous! Plus the fact that at least two human boys are dating **monsters?!** Disgusting!

Then there were the two classes for the ghosts and magick-users to help them become more powerful, each being taught by exceptionally powerful instructors!

He had also been shocked to learn that the rumors of a human-kaiju hybrid were true. Of all the types of monsters in the world, the giant kaijus were the only ones to which there was no sure-fire way to defeat or destroy them that he could exploit. That, plus their immense power made them extremely dangerous. Lilith had told him of the boy's near-death experience due to an internal ice attack, but also that he seemed even stronger upon his recovery, so it was possible that weakness no longer applied. When Lilith first told him Duncan was sent to another realm, he was relieved….until she went on to tell him that he would be able to return long before his plans would be ready. Duncan Rosenblatt was the one wild card in his plans that he had no way to completely account for, especially with the loss of the Sword of Perseus! He still did not understand how that happened!

What was also troubling was the undertone of…..admiration Lilith had in some of her reports. Such as when she told him about the daycare center that had been opened at the school, and the human care-giver who was working alongside monster care-givers; teaching students! And **worse** , bringing her own infant and toddler with her! Lilith should have been as appalled as he was! It seems that the influence of her parents was starting to show, just as it did the Halloween before last.

Van Hellscream seethed inwardly. His brother **could** have been as great a hunter as himself; like all their forebearers. But he was weak. And marrying his bleeding-heart wife only compounded his failure. They were **both** a disgrace to the family name! When they died in that 'accident', as her only living relative, Van took in his then seven year-old niece and molded her into a tool for his own ends. He would one day sire his own children to carry on in his name, and he would continue to use Lilith so long as it served his goals.

Lilith left after giving her report. It wouldn't do for one of her monster classmates to stop by her 'home' and not find her there. He went to his study and placed a video call once he sat at his desk. Dr. Ozborn answered at Van Hellscream's secret lab.

"Report, Doctor", he said firmly. If it weren't for his organization, Ozborn would likely be in prison now.

"All projects are progressing on schedule", Ozborn told him. "All the data you have given me from my former collegues at MEGTAF has been extremely helpful. While the monster DNA sequences remain elusive, the de-coded animal DNA provided by Dr. Moreau can easily be spliced into the mogwai in our possession; especially after they transform into their more vicious form. All that remains is to choose which animals to splice with them."

"Excellent! They will be an integral part of my plan!", the monster hunter said. "What about the upgrades to our Nth metal armor and weapons?"

"Progressing on schedule", the Doctor replied. "The addition of my adaptive materials is difficult, but **will** be completed by the deadline."

"Good. Keep up the good work, Ozborn."

xxXXxx

Veron entered his master's command chamber and waited patiently. Obsidious Blackstar was facing a wide, overhead viewport, basking in solar and cosmic radiation. After a few moments, he closed the viewport and his command chair rotated until he was looking down at his chief minion.

"By your command", Veron bowed slightly as he spoke.

"Speak."

"We have reached the second, slightly larger gas-giant of the star system. As you commanded, we have come to a stop and are set in standard orbit. We have discovered that this planet also has 67 natural satelites of various sizes, any number of which may contain useful raw materials. We merely await your orders."

"Excellent, Veron", the Psion grinned. "Begin gas-mining operations immediately. Send survey teams to the satelites to scout for useful raw materials, and report their findings to me. Has any new pertinent information been gleaned from our target's transmission signals?"

"Nothing to speak of."

"Very well. Continue to monitor the signals and report your findings to me regularly, and begin gas-mining and survey operations immediately."

"By your command."

xxXXxx

Margaret and the boys were worried about Duncan, and now the Wolf family was in the same boat. They were upset and worried, but not really angry with Claire, Thorn, Dusk, and Luna. After all, their hearts were in the right place. Boodika wasn't angry either, but she **did** scold the girls for recklessly trying so advanced a spell without consulting her. She would have warned them of the fifty-fifty chance of the result: either bringing Duncan home or sending Clawdeen to him.

Boodika had heard from Baba Yaga that Clawdeen was there in Ever After and safe, and that magickal repairs to the mirror there were proceeding at roughly the same pace as the mirror here. Boodika let it go at that, confident that they would make contact when all was ready. After all, what could possibly go wrong in a realm of fairytales and happily-ever-afters?

xxXXxx

(Ever After)

"Stand back, Mother!", Raven shouted as she stepped forward, both hands flaring with magick. Just behind her, Dirk held his Ebony Blade at the ready. On either side of him, Clawdeen was in a ready stance, her fangs and claws bared; and Duncan went full kaiju in a battle stance, his claws and fangs bared and a fire-ball ready in his throat! "I don't know how you escaped your mirror prison, but I **won't** let you hurt my friends!"

"Raven! I love that you're willing to fight with your magick powers", her mother said proudly, as she gently took Raven's hands in hers, snuffing the magick. "And, Dirk, so ready to leap to your sister's aid, and inspiring such loyalty from your friends. But you judge me too harshly. I don't wish harm."

"Nice try, Mom", Raven said, pulling her hands back. "I know your tricks."

"No tricks", she laughed sweetly. "It is not so hard to change."

With a flash of magick, the Evil Queen turned Prof. Rumplestiltskin into a frog. The transformed teacher landed in Hopper's hands.

"See? He just changed", she smiled.

"Welcome to my world", Hopper said. Next to him, the baby dragon Poppy was holding snapped at the frog, thinking him to be a snack. Hopper dropped him, and he landed on the ground unharmed. A normal frog hopped next to him and snapped a fly out of mid-air. The Evil Queen turned to face Snow White.

"Snow White, I **am** reformed", she said, bowing slightly. "And now you have dragons. What fun we **could** have had together."

"No more games, Mother", Raven scoffed.

"You remember, Snow?", the Evil Queen said warmly.

"We **did** have an **epic** rivalry", Snow agreed. "You versus me, it hexcited the whole school."

"Say, I could coach a team", she hinted. "Oh, if I wasn't sent back into the mirror. What do you say, Snow White? Or is the 'fairest of them all' afraid of a little competition?"

"If I recall, the crowds were cheering for **me** ", Snow said haughtily. "Ok, you're on!"

The crowd gasped in shock, as Snow White raised her voice to announce:

"You won't 'snow' what hit you. I hereby grant the Evil Queen a temporary pardon!"

A wave of shock went through the whole crowd.

"What?!", Raven gasped. "How can you trust my mom not to be evil when she just turned a teacher into a frog?!"

"-'Evil'? Ok, I'm changing him back", she said sweetly, changing the normal frog into a dead-ringer for the Professor! "There! You happy?"

"Happy? I'll be happy when you do something good that isn't part of some bargain!", Raven retorted, then turned to leave. Arthur followed her, certain that his mother now already knew about them.

"Come find us when you do", Dirk said in a hard voice, following his sister. Darling pointed to her own eyes then at the Evil Queen to silently say 'I'm watching you!', then followed Dirk.

Duncan and Clawdeen also glared at the sorceress, then followed the others.

 _(MN) The Evil Queen sure knows how to manipulate Snow White._

 _(FN) Her_ _ **one**_ _weakness has always been dragongames._

 _(BP) *shudder*And who knows what evil plans she could secretly set in motion now?_

 _(TP) You got that right, Sis. Even her back-up plans have back-up plans._

"I'm sure your children will come around", Snow said to her, then took her hand in one of hers and raised it up. "We two Queens will be your coaches! Tomorrow, we will choose our captains and teams. Let us begin a new era of dragongames!"

"And there you have it, subscrollers", Blondie told her viewers, as the crowd cheered wildly. "Dragongames are back!"

"A pardon for the Evil Queen?", a dumbfounded Giles said to the gathered faculty. "But, I….Why?"

"If our good Queen, Snow White vouches for the pardon, then who are we to argue?", Milton asked uncertainly. None of them noticed when the silent Prof. Rumplestilskin's tongue snapped a fly out of mid-air!

Arthur waited for his sister just outside the arena. Raven and the others understood and agreed to all meet up later. Dirk in particular said he needed to see the Book End blacksmith with some designs Dexter had helped him with. When Apple emerged, Arthur stepped over to her as she walked.

"Why do I get the rotten feeling that this plan of Mom's is gonna backfire badly, Sis?", he asked. She was about to answer when their mother's limo pulled up next to them.

"Come, my dears", Snow said through to open window. "I'll give you both a ride back up to the school."

The twin children of Snow White obediently got in the limo. As they drove back up to the school, Arthur was sure she would interrogate him about his relationship with Raven. To his relief, Apple spoke first.

"A pardon?! But why?", the princess asked, worried.

"Don't fret, Applesauce", their mother said, as she rolled up the partition between them and the dwarf driver. She then pulled a hand mirror out of her purse. "I have a secret weapon: behold the 'Booking Glass'. This has magic that can return the Evil Queen to mirror prison forever after. All I have to do is input the sequence code with the gems just above the handle, and say the command words."

"Capture walnuts!", she commanded, and a beam of light from the mirror struck a nearby bowl of walnuts, making it disappear!

"Walnuts captured", Mirrie, a female voice from the mirror, confirmed robotically.

"Technology is **so** hexciting these day", Snow white smiled. Then she turned to her son. "Arthur, dear, we **must** discuss your….relationship with Raven Queen. What were you thinking? She **is** the daughter of the Evil Queen."

"Whom **you** just gave a pardon to, Mom", he reminded firmly, but with respect and love. "It started way back in nursery-rhyme school. You remember how the other kids bullied me for being small. One day, I found a quiet place to hide, and met Raven. The other kids shunned her out of fear of her mom, and thinking she was evil, too. I saw that she wasn't and we became friends. I was all she had, and she was all I had…..besides Apple of course. It was like that for years and we became quite….close, and we fell in love."

"That's sweet, my dear, but she's still…."

"Mom, **please** let me finish", he asked firmly. "It broke my heart when her mom pulled her from school. There was nothing I wanted more than to see her again."

"Well, that explains why you were so desperate to go to Ever After High after the Evil Queen was imprisoned", Snow correctly guessed.

"Yes", he confessed. "And when I **did** see her again, I still felt the same way. And after I broke the memory curse her mom put on her, Raven's feelings were still the same, too. We **love** each other, Mom!"

"Believe me, Arthur", Snow began gently. "I can understand being in love. But you are still a prince and she is a future villain. You must end it."

"No, Mother", he said firmly, surprising both his mother and his sister! Arthur had **never** defied either of their parents before in his life! "Raven hasn't signed the Book and is determined **not** to follow in her mom's footsteps. Plus, the identity of my 'pre-determined princess' is unclear. Tell her, Sis!"

"It's true, Mom", Apple told her honestly. "The Storybook of Legends never showed who his princess is."

"And you saw how she and her brother both stood up to their mom", Arthur said. "For all we know, Raven Queen **is** my princess. So in true fairytale tradition, I will **_never_** give up on her!"

Snow White was impressed with her son, on many levels. He had maturely and respectfully defended his love, and he did seem to truly love Raven with all his heart. And it did seem to be true that Raven was denying her destiny as a villain, and was quick and willing to defend others from her mother.

"Very well, Arthur", she said finally, as they pulled up to the school entrance. " **For now** we will wait and see how the chapters unfold."

"That's all I ask, Mom", Arthur said gratefully. "Thank you."

xxXXxx

A short time later, there was a sign-up sheet for the dragongames on the school bulletin board, and many students were signing up. Dirk and Duncan had both just signed when Raven came around the corner.

"Are you gonna join one of the teams tomorrow, Sis?", Dirk asked.

"Uh, no!", she said firmly. Un-noticed, Faybelle Thorn was listening around the corner. "Our mother is up to something, Dirk. I can't believe this isn't part of some evil plan. I…just don't want to get involved."

Faybelle grinned and flew away.

"Yeah, we think you're right", Duncan smiled.

"That's why we **are** signing up", Dirk grinned. "Duncan, Darling, and I will keep an eye on Mom."

"And I'll stick close to **you** tomorrow", Clawdeen said with a feral smile. "Just in case."

"I knew I could count on you guys", Raven smiled. "Thanks."

Faybelle flew to one of the 'Coach's Quarters' built into one of the four large trees around the arena that were integrated into the main wall; the one she knew was occupied by the Evil Queen. She entered through the wide balcony doors overlooking the arena. She saw many shelves containing trophies and, strangely enough, empty jars. Wait, one contained a rather irate frog wearing a furry cusack's hat.

"Faybelle Thorn", the Queen said warmly, surprising her. "To what do I owe the honor of a visit from the Dark Fairy's daughter?"

"A girl could learn a lot from someone as intelligent, beautiful, smart, powerful…..", Faybelle began, trying to appeal to her vanity.

"What do you want?", the Evil Queen asked impatiently. "The truth."

"I want to be like you!", Faybelle confessed to her idol. "Make me your dragonriding captain, because I was listening to Raven, and she said that there's no way she's gonna be on your team."

"My Raven said that?", the Queen said dejectedly, rather hurt to hear that. She turned away from her guest with sad look on her face.

"I would do anything… ** _anything_** to be like you", Faybelle practically begged.

"Anything?", she said, a malevolent smile returning to her lips. "Hmm? Ok. You may be of use to me."

She walked over to the jar containing the irate frog and picked it up to shake it, maliciously knocking the poor frog around before putting it down. Faybelle smiled as she now realized the frog was Professor Rumplestiltskin.

"There are many teachers here that do not trust me", she said, conjuring a black and purple purse from thin air. "Let me share a bit of my…dark magick with you. Here's what you need to do….."

xxXXxx

That night in the dragon stables, most of the potential dragonriders opted to sleep there with their dragons, including Dirk. He was snoring on his back on a pile of soft straw, with Shadow-Wing curled up on his chest.

Raven was kneeling next to Nevermore, petting her affectionately.

"A lot of excitement around here, huh girl?", she chuckled softly. "It might get pretty strange for a while, you know, while my mom's here."

Raven didn't notice the sparkling, magenta mist flowing down from the window above and behind them, making them sleepy.

"*yawn* Maybe I'll just….sleep out here….with you…tonight….", Raven drifted off to peaceful sleep leaning against the softly snoring Nevermore.

The Evil Queen stepped out of the shadows to smile down on Raven and Dirk with equal parts pride and malevolence.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: I know I kinda short-changed the current arc this chapter, but I thought I should show a little of what was happening back in the home dimension at this point. But don't worry! Things are** ** _really_** **gonna "heat up" in Ever After next chapter!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	66. Chapter 65: Let the Games Begin!

**_Hey, Everyone! The main reason I chose 'Dragon Games' for this arc was because Duncan could play as himself without a dragon, and I thought that would be fun. Secondly, it was because this story was also a major turning point for Apple and Raven on many levels. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 65: Let the Games Begin!

It had started to rain. Apple sat at her vanity brushing her lusterous golden hair in a melancholy mood. Her eyes drifted from her mirror to the photo of her and Raven next to her make-up. Her mood brightened somewhat when the door opened.

"Hey, roomie, you're out late…", she said as she turned, expecting to see Raven. She gasped when the Evil Queen stepped into view. "-Oh, it's you."

"Hello, Apple", she smirked as she walked over to the seated princess, and lightning flashed.

"What d-do you want?", Apple asked.

"Why, to see you!", she said, taking her hairbrush, then gently turning Apple's head to face the mirror. She began to almost lovingly brush the nervous girl's hair.

"I-I mean what do you want for Raven and Dirk?", she asked. "Your plan to get them on your side….it's not working. How will I get my…..?"

"Your happily-ever-after….yes, my dear I have **not** forgotten you", the Queen said with a touch of impatience, rolling her eyes.

"Also, my mom has the Booking Glass, and she's just looking for an excuse to use it", Apple told her, making the Evil Queen pause for a moment.

"Well, we'll have to do something about that, won't we? But first, Raven **must** become a dragonrider."

"But, the dragons are too young to ride", Apple pointed out.

"Not for long, my dear", she smirked. "It will give her a thirst for competition. The joy of defeating others is a **key** step on a path of evil; a step that her brother knows very well. *cruel chuckle* He does **so** **_love_** to defeat Daring at every opportunity, doesn't he? But Darling could be a problem. So when teams are being picked tomorrow, you will do as I say."

"But haven't I done enough?", Apple asked.

"Hardly!", the Evil Queen spun her around. "You have only just begun to serve me! If **anyone** learned that it was Apple White who freed me, why you could kiss your Prince Charming and rest of your tale good-bye!"

Apple sobbed as the Evil Queen left and lightning and thunder crashed.

xxXXxx

The next morning, Clawdeen had tracked Raven to the dragon stables. All the other dragon 'riders' had already awakened and left, including Dirk. The werewolf found her snoring softly in Nevermore's stall and gently shook her awake.

"*yawn* Clawdeen?"

"Mornin', Princess", Clawdeen smiled. "Not that it's any of my business, but why did you sleep out here?"

"I just wanted to be near….Wait…..Where's Nevermore?", Raven asked, looking around.

"She was already gone when I found you", Clawdeen said. "Don't worry. I'll help you look for her after we go have breakfast. Come on."

"By the way", Raven smiled knowingly. "Did you and Duncan keep half the boys dorm awake half the night again?"

"No!", she said then smiled slyly. "It was the **whole** dorm and they were fine after they all took cold showers."

They both laughed as they climbed the winding stairway up to the school.

In the castleteria, Clawdeen got a plate of ham and eggs with juice, a cup of mocha and a chocolate chip muffin, while Raven got her usual omelet with bacon, a cherry danish and a glass of milk. They headed for a couple of tables where their friends were to find seats.

"Raven! You gotta try this!", her brother called as they got closer. She gasped when she saw his plate, while Clawdeen just snickered knowingly. All the guys had the same thing.

"Try it?", Raven said. "I wouldn't know whether to eat it or **climb** it! What **is** that monstrosity?"

"This", Duncan said proudly, "is something I make at home all the time, so I asked the servers here to make it. It's a heap of spicy fries smothered in hot chili and cheese topped with two fried eggs! They gave it a name that I think I'll use from now on, too: the Kaiju Volcano!"

"It's hexcellently delicious!", Dirk said around a mouthful, and the other guys grunted or 'mm-hmm'-ed in agreement. Even Cerise was enjoying it! However, all the other girls looked as skeptical as Raven. Apple was doing her best to ignore her brother by focusing on her plate of apple-cinnamon pancakes.

"Just smile and nod, Ghouls", Clawdeen told them with an understanding smile. "I'm the one who has to deal with this **all** the time. Believe it or not, Duncan is actually a really **fang-tastic** cook. Some of his stuff may **look** questionable sometimes, but it's **always** yummy. Remember that surf &turf dinner we threw together when we were camping, Hot-Stuff?"

"Mmmmmm", he agreed with a sly smirk. "And that's not **all** I remember from that night, my love."

"Yeah, you **better** remember **_that_** , Handsome!", she growled, pulling him in for a deep kiss.

As promised, Clawdeen went with Raven to help her look for Nevermore after breakfast. They searched the halls, the auditorium, the grounds, the tower she normally guarded, everywhere.

"I bet my mom has her", Raven said in the library.

"You might be right", Clawdeen said. "The most recent scent was in her stall in the stables."

"Yeah, because I slept with her in there", Raven said. "That's where you found me, remember?"

"You don't understand", the werewolf told her. "There was no fresh trail away from there, and I doubt she could've flown out of there without waking you."

"You're right!", Raven exclaimed. "My mom must've magicked her away!"

"SSSHHHHHHH!", the Evil Step-Librarians hissed together.

"Let's go", Clawdeen whispered as they left.

Once they were gone, Faybelle put down the book she was hiding behind and looked around to see if the coast was clear. Then she quietly walked up behind the busy step-librarians, pulling a jar with two snails and a handful of magic dust from the purse the Evil Queen had given her. She blew the dust at them, affecting one just before the other as they breathed it in. When they exhaled, the essence of who they were transferred to the snails.

"Cool! And I thought you two were slimy before", she laughed. She took the jar to the Evil Queen's quarters and placed it next to the jar containing frog Rumplestiltskin; who was angrily banging on the glass as he complained loudly until the snails shushed him in unison.

xxXXxx

A short time later, the Grimm brothers and the two queens had all the potential dragonriders and some of their friends assembled on some special bleacher seats on the main games platform for the choosing of the two captains and teams.

"-Following that, since your dragons are not yet…fledged", Milton told them, "today you will merely **walk** your young dragons through their paces."

Many of the students groaned in disappointment when they heard this.

"But, no fear!", Giles said. "The Evil Queen will today offer a master-class demonstration of dragonriding."

This got some cheers of excitement as the Evil Queen waved. They all knew her reputation, as well as Snow's, as a skilled rider!

Giles then took out a coin imprinted with a dove on one side and a crow on the other; equating to light and dark. As he flipped it in the air, The Evil Queen's eyes flared ever so slightly with magick, unnoticed. Giles caught and revealed the coin: the crow.

"Dark wins. You may choose first", Giles said to the Evil Queen as he stepped aside.

"I choose…Apple White", she smirked. The crowd and Apple herself gasped. Snow glared at her rival while the Grimm brothers wisely stepped away, lest things get out of hand.

"But no! I should be on my mom's team", the girl said. Then she heard the Evil Queen's voice in her head.

'Shall I tell them all a little story about how I was freed from my mirror prison?', she said, and the look in her evil eyes told Apple that she was actually speaking to her in her mind!

"But then again, it's just a game, right?", Apple grinned nervously. "Let's mix it up. Your turn, Mom."

"I choose Darling Charming to be captain of my team", Snow White smiled, as the Charming girl stepped over to her and winked at her friend, Apple. It was now time for the captains to choose the rest of their teammates.

'Choose Dirk first!', the Evil Queen told her in her mind.

"I choose Dirk Knight", Apple said obediently, and she noticed the slight disappointment in Darling's eyes. Dirk stepped over next to Apple with a smile, winking at Darling.

"I choose Duncan", Darling said, prompting the kaiju Prince to join her.

The choosing went on until both sides had five players: Darling, Duncan, Holly, Poppy, and Lizzie for Light; and Apple, Dirk, Ashlynn, Melody, and Maddie for Dark.

"Well done, captains!" Giles said. "Now that you've chosen your teams, it's time to…."

" **MOM!** "

Everyone turned to see Raven and Clawdeen walking up the steps.

"Raven! You changed your mind?", Darling smiled hopefully.

"Uh, no!", she said, the turned to her mom, while Dirk subtly winked reassuringly to his sister. "Mom, did you take Nevermore?"

Meanwhile, Clawdeen went up and embraced Duncan, and whispered in his ear that they had been searching all morning. He nodded, and told her to stick with Raven still.

"She is fine, my dear", she smiled.

"Mom, **where** is Nevermore?", Raven asked more firmly.

"A straight answer, this time", Clawdeen growled threateningly.

"Mommy has taken care of everything", the mother of Raven and Dirk smiled, then pointed to her balcony. Nevermore was there, fighting her restraints! Changing size didn't help, as the collar changed with her! The crowd gasped.

"Dragons are meant to be ridden", the Evil Queen said, as Raven gasped in concern for her beloved pet.

Faybelle flew to Nevermore and released one side of the restraints. But before she could finish, Nevermore took off, dragging her along by the chain that was still attached, as the dark fairy was too scared to let go. After a dazzling display of aerobatics dragging poor Fayebelle along, Duncan was about to fly up to help when the Evil Queen simply lifted her magick enveloped hand, took control of Nevermore and directed her to land next to her; much to Faybelle's relief.

With a wave of her hands, the Evil Queen transformed her gown into her dragonriding gear, then mounted Nevermore.

"This is all a distraction", she whispered to Fayebelle. "Find me Snow's magickal mirror. I **need** that Booking Glass!"

The young dark fairy nodded with an evil grin as the Evil Queen took off. The small crowd was impressed by her dragonriding aerobatic display. She pulled up to hover near the stage.

"Perhaps the students would benefit from a more in-depth demonstration", she called out. "Care to join me, Snow?"

"Oh, I couldn't! It's been ages!", she said modestly, until she heard the cheers of the students. "Well if you insist. Got to give the people what they want!"

Snow White threw off her royal gown to reveal that she'd been prepared with her gear all along. Her white, red, silver, and gold gear would not have looked out of place on an Amazon Queen, and all the boys watching were stunned by her beauty. She whistled and vaulted over the rail, landing astride Legend, who roared as she took off.

"Oh, this is very hexciting!", Blondie said, beginning her mirror-cast. "The Evil Queen and Snow White are giving one spelltacular crash course in dragonsport. So stop 'dragon' your heels and come watch!"

Hearing this announcement, the rest of the students, and the citizens of Book End flocked to the new arena, filling the stands. The Grimm brothers and Baba Yaga took position on one of the four tree-platforms to watch.

The gingerbread referee blew his whistle. A gold-trimmed red ball about the size of a volley-ball magickally shot up from the center of the playing field. Both queens flew for it, each trying to be the first to catch it. Snow managed to get it first, and one-on-one game between them began to much cheering from the crowd.

"Wow!", Blondie said, still broadcasting, with Cedar taking video on her mirror-pad. "You see those images of jewels floating above the stadium? They determine the number of points a goal is worth once a rider flies through them then gets the ball through the goal-hoop!"

Just then, the Evil Queen cut Snow off from the goal. She then swooped in and stole the ball, much to Snow's mild frustration. They dodged and weaved around each other competitively.

Faybelle fluttered over to the central-stage stands and took a seat near Snow White's purse. She saw the Booking Glass sticking partially out of it, as well as the security-dwarf who was focused on the game. She was about to take it when…

"I haven't seen a vision this spell-binding since….. I last checked my hair", Daring said as he sat down, placing his bag full of hand-mirrors on the seat next to Fayebelle. He took one out and admired himself in it. "Speaking of which: still perfect!"

'Perfect!', she thought to herself, as she pulled one from his bag while he was distracted. She then sneakily took the Booking Glass and replaced it with the regular mirror. She tucked the magick mirror into her belt and stood to leave. Just then, a gust of wind from one of the swooping dragons knocked her over. She stood back up, but the Booking Glass was gone.

"Here", Daring said helpfully holding out a mirror. "You dropped this. Nice taste in mirrors, by the way."

She smiled as she took it, then fluttered away on her fairy wings.

"Or was **this** her mirror?", he said picking up another that he thought had spilled from his bag. "Oh, well. I have plenty."

The Evil Queen laughed as she had Nevermore did a loop before she landed on the stage. She dismounted and help the ball aloft in victory.

"Nevermore!", Raven cried in concern, going to her pet. At her touch, the mild mind-control spell broke and she shrank to her smaller size again and jumped into Raven's arms. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."

Clawdeen glared at the Evil Queen before following her friend. The Evil Queen looked up, and saw Fayebelle give her a 'thumbs-up'; indicating that she had succeeded. Just then, Legend landed on the stage, allowing Snow to dismount to the cheering crowd.

"And that's how it's done!", Blondie said on the jumbo mirror-tron. "What a great demonstration from the old guard. And now, it's time for the next generation. The teams will now take the field!"

The crowd cheered as the gates to the team dug-outs opened. Each team came out on the field; team Dark's dragons wearing black harness and leash gear while Light's wore silver. The game was played with four players at a time, and one on the 'bench' to fill in if a player needed rest or got injured. Duncan opted to take the bench for Light, as he was his own dragon, while Maddie cheered wildly for her team from Dark's bench. The floating jewels were lowered to about a foot above the ground.

The 'game' commenced, with the ball being launched, the little dragons head-butting it around the field and jumping through the jewels. Lizzie was having trouble with her dragon…..the little pink darling refused to move while leashed, no matter how hard Lizzie pulled. When the leash gave way, causing Lizzie to fall down and twist her ankle, her dragon bounced over to lick her face. As the 'fallen' rider was carried out, she high-fived Duncan, 'tagging' him into the game. She offered her dragon, as playing as himself against baby dragons wouldn't be fair. He accepted, and was able to get the little dragon to play without the leash. **All** the baby dragons liked him, so it was simple.

Meanwhile, Raven and Clawdeen had brought Nevermore back to the dragon stables. The still angry Raven activated the machine that dumped dragon-food into the feeding troughs that ran down the center of the stables. Nevermore quickly ate her fill.

"I don't get you, Raven Queen", Fayebelle said, fluttering to the floor. "If my mom was as wicked cool as yours, I would do **anything** to be ruling by her side."

"Oh gag", Raven drolled deadpan.

"Double gag", Clawdeen agreed, walking beside her friend.

"That's how we're different, Fayebelle", Raven said, as Nevermore caught up with her and Clawdeen. "I **won't** do anything to please her. Especially if it means my friends could get hurt."

Clawdeen and Nevermore both growled in agreement as they left. What none of them noticed was Fayebelle sprinkling something into the dragon-food in the troughs.

Back at the arena, the sands in the hour-glasses ran out and a buzzer sounded.

"That's it for the first half!", Blondie announced. "Dragonriders, please take your 'steeds' to the stable for refreshment."

As the others left, Duncan stayed at the arena, to keep an eye on the Evil Queen. He knew **something** was up, he just didn't know what.

At the stables, the baby dragons began to eat, as did the dark babies who had just awakened hearing their clutch-mates enter. Fayebelle grinned from the rafters as she dialed the Evil Queen on her mirror-phone.

"It's done", she smiled.

"Did you feed them the growth formula?", the Queen asked.

All the little dragons suddenly got woozy, and then shot up to sub-adult size! Still smaller than their mother, they were equal to Nevermore's current full-size! The riders all gasped in shock.

"Yes!", Fayebelle said with a wicked grin.

"Hexcellent!", the Evil Queen said with an evil chuckle.

"Are you ready for more dragongames?", Snow announced loudly a few moments later. "Let's begin round….two?!"

The sight of near-adult dragons with riders entering the field through the team gates was a shock to everyone! Duncan gave Darling a confused look, only for her to shrug back. At the same time, Snow glared suspiciously at the Evil Queen.

"What?", she said innocently. "Don't look at me! I was right here the whole time!"

Once the jewels were reset to regulation height, the buzzer sounded and the hour-glasses turned. The dragons took to the air: Apple, Ashlynn, Melody, and Dirk on one side; Darling, Holly, Poppy, and Duncan on the other. Maddie and Lizzie were on the bench with their dragons.

 _(MN) What an un-hexpected development! For the first time in a generation,_ _ **full-size**_ _dragons have taken the field!_

"Coming to you live from the grandstands", Blondie announced, "not too hot, not too cold…"

"Yay, dragongames!", Justine Dancer cheered into Blondie's microphone.

"My wish has come true!", Farrah Goodfairy added from Blondie's other side.

"And there you have it!", Blondie announced. "This day has turned out to be just right!"

"Have fun and play safe", Snow told her team from the top of the white dragon statue. "Remember, this is just a game."

"This **isn't** just a game", the Evil Queen told her team from the black dragon statue. "You're here to win by **any** means necessary! Victory is **all** that matters! Take your positions."

Most of her team looked uncomfortable with that declaration. Only Dirk seemed to take it in stride, much to the delight of his mother.

The referee blew his whistle, and the ball launched straight up as the crowd cheered. Melody Piper caught it for Team Dark and carried it under one arm while she cranked up the tunes in hers and her dragon's head-phones. Holly and Poppy flanked her on either side. Then Darling pulled in front of her, blocking access to the jewels and hoop.

Melody grinned and tossed the ball behind her, where Apple caught it with ease.

"Great catch!", the Pied Piper's daughter called. "Go for the ruby!"

Apple went through the ruby with Duncan hot on her tail.

"That's worth fifty points if I can get it in the goal!", Apple called, the other riders joining Duncan in trying to catch her. Apple threw the ball through the hoop for a goal, a horn blew and fifty points 'ding-ed' onto Dark's score-board to much cheering from the crowd. The Evil Queen clapped in approval. She looked in the stands with a smile and saw Raven sit next to Daring. Nevermore was in her arms, and the werewolf girl was still with her as well.

"All the pieces are falling into place", she smirked to herself.

Darling had the ball and was flying downfield. She passed through the sapphire, but was cut-off from going through the yellow topaz as well by Dirk, who winked at her. He thought she looked as brave as she was beautiful on her ice-blue and pink dragon; Glacia. For a split second, she admired how heroic he looked astride Shadow-Wing, during which Apple and Melody began to close in on her.

"Darling!", Duncan called as he started to pass below her. She grinned as she dropped the ball to him. Since they were on the same team, the sapphire points would still count if Duncan scored a goal! His greater flying experience showed as he easily dodged his opponents to toss the ball through the hoop, tying the game at 50-50.

Ashlynn now had the ball as Duncan and Poppy closed in on her, blocking her from the jewels and the goal. She threw to ball to Dirk only to have the throw intercepted by Holly. Holly passed to Darling, with Apple just missing intercepting it. Darling then passed to Poppy, who then flew through two successive saphires, which would give them 100 points if they score a goal. Dirk cut her off, forcing her to pass back to Darling.

"Woohoo! Go, Darling!", Raven yelled amid all the other cheers.

"Remember, **any** means necessary!", the Evil Queen yelled to Apple as she flew by. Apple flew high, then swooped down from the side…..and knocked Darling off her dragon! Time seemed to slow as she fell, and the crowd gasped in shock. Darling hit the ground roughly and Glacia landed loyally next to her. Darling was moving, but obviously injured.

"Time out!", the referee called. Apple flew over to her 'coach'.

"I hope you know what you're doing", Apple said, distraught. "My friends are getting hurt!"

"Ugh. A necessary evil", the Evil Queen scoffed. "Remember, we must get Raven to take the field for my plan to work!"

"You mean, I get my happily ever after?", Apple said dubiously. "You **promised!** "

"What? Oh yes! Yes of course. Certainly", she lied convincingly.

"I'm good, Coach", Darling called, wincing in pain as the school nurse checked her over. "Put me back in."

The nurse sympathetically shook her head to her and Snow, indicating it would not be a good idea.

"No, it's over", Snow said dejectedly. "We must forfeit."

 _(MN) Well, that's that. Good surrenders._

 _(FN) And Evil wins._

 _(BP) Wait…What?! It_ _ **can't**_ _end like that!_

 _(TP) Yeah, I gotta go with Brooke on this one. This just isn't right…._ _ **none**_ _of the stories are supposed to end like this!_

"She always wins!", Raven said angrily. "Somebody has **got** to be able to stop her!"

"Ooooh! I know this one!", Maddie smiled as she bounced into view next to her from nowhere and pointed at her best friend forever after. " **You!** "

"Crazy-girl is right, Raven", Clawdeen said. "No one else can do it."

"Since we do not have enough players to take the field", Snow announced, "We surrender."

The crowd gasped and murmered among themselves as the Evil Queen chuckled malevolently.

"Not so fast!", a voice called out loudly, making everyone look up in surprise.

"Light will have to play with a new rider!", Raven announced as she came into view astride Nevermore wearing her own dragonriding gear! Snow smiled with hope as the crowd cheered.

"All according to plan", the Evil Queen said to herself with a dark smile.

Nearby in the stands, Daring sat with a tray full of food: a burger, a taco, fries, a drink, and cotton-candy. He looked at himself in his mirror.

"Oooh! These faux gems look so real", he said, looking at the three red gems just above the handle, then rubbed them gently. "They could use a little polish though.(he looks at his food and closes his eyes in anticipation) Rapture! A delicious meal!"

"Delicious meal captured", Mirrie said robotically. Daring looked down and saw in shock all his food was now missing!

"Oh, come on! Who took my cotton candy?", he asked irritably.

Up on the tree-tower platform, the Grimm brothers and Baba Yaga were watching the game. They did not notice Fayebelle Thorn come up behind them.

"Hey, 'esteemed' faculty, say cheese!", she sneered, blowing magick dust at them!

Down on the field, the two Queens glared at each other from their respective dragon statues as the players took their positions for the next play. In the center, Apple faced off with Raven, who had assumed Darling's position.

"Apple, it's just us", Raven said.

"It's our **destiny** , you against me", Apple smiled. "Doesn't this feel 'right'?"

The referee blew his whistle and the ball launched. Both Apple and Raven ascended quickly to get it. Raven caught it as they kept flying.

"Uh…'right'?", Raven scoffed. "My mom is free and Darling is **hurt** , Apple."

"I know. It wasn't supposed to happen. For real", Apple replied. They flew and dodged around each other, staying close enough together to talk.

"Don't you want revenge?", Apple asked, trying to appeal to Raven's darker emotions. "Doesn't your heart desire victory over me? Aren't you **angry**?"

"Am I angry?", Raven echoed as she passed through a ruby and topaz. "Yeah, I'm angry, Apple!"

"Good! Follow your destiny!"

"I'm angry that you don't listen", Raven said. "I'm angry that you say you're my friend, but are so **selfish**. It's all about what **you** want. What kind of 'friend' refuses to listen?"

"I just want our happily ever after", Apple said, trying to sound reasonable.

"Have it", Raven said, throwing her the ball. "I'm not playing any games anymore."

"At least **my** mom will be proud of me!", Apple cried, feeling hurt as she watched Raven fly away.

"Raven, where are you going?", Duncan called out in concern.

Apple set her jaw and turned, flying through the other team and a sapphire and ruby, doing a barrel roll to avoid Duncan. She threw the ball through the hoop for 100 points to the sound of the buzzer and the cheering crowd. Apple wiped her tears and flew over to the Evil Queen.

"It won't work", she said. "Raven won't turn evil."

"She doesn't have to", the Evil Queen smirked. "It is enough that others think she has. Now head back in. I've got this."

She turned her gaze up to her ascending daughter and accessed her deep reservoir of dark magick.

"A smoldering pyre, to a dragon flier, I summon forth uncontrollable fire!"

Nevermore suddenly began belching huge blasts of fire at random!

"Whoa! Whoa!", Raven cried, trying to regain control as several blasts hit the school, setting it afire!

"Look! It's Raven!", Fayebelle yelled, as planned. "She's burning down the school!"

The crowd gasped with shock seeing what appeared to be true. Then they began to panic as a still out of control Nevermore then also set fire to parts of the arena!

"Watch out!", Raven yelled, all but drowned out by the cries of the panicking crowd. Just then, amid all the chaos, Duncan flew in and reached them. He grabbed Nevermore's snout, holding her mouth shut with one hand and covering her nostrils with the other.

"What are you doing?", Raven asked.

"Fire needs air!", he explained. "If she can't breath, it should stop in a moment!"

As predicted, the Nevermore's fit ended, and Duncan carefully released her. She huffed exhaustedly.

"Oh, you poor thing", Raven said, concerned about her beloved pet, petting her gently to calm her.

"You better get out of here, Raven", Duncan suggested. "I'll stay and help everyone."

"I guess you're right", she agreed, then urged Nevermore. "Let's go!"

Amid the flames and panicked screams of the crowd, the two queens descended from their statues.

"You! Up to your wicked ways again!", Snow White said accusingly.

"Me?! She's on **your** team!", the Evil Queen protested.

"This. Ends. Now!", Snow declared, pulling the mirror from her purse and aiming it at her life-long rival, who smirked knowingly with an arched eye-brow. "Capture the Evil Queen!"

Snow gasped when the command didn't work!

"Looking for **this?** ", the Evil Queen taunted with a malevolent grin, holding up an identical mirror before breaking it with a flick of her finger! She then dropped and stepped on it as she approached Snow, all oblivious to the one student still in the stands.

"Hey!", Daring said as he toasted a marshmallow over one of small flames in the stands. "I have one of those mirrors, too.(picking up mirror) If it's good enough for the Queen then it's good enough to capture Daring Charming's…..*flash*

"Daring Charming captured", Mirrie said.

"The game, at last, is over", The Evil Queen said victoriously. All the heroes and dragonriders were busy trying to help all the people and could not see the stage through the chaos and smoke. "Take her."

The bodies of the Grimm brothers, now under her control, moved to capture Snow White. Her dwarf body-guards tried valiantly to protect her, but were overwhelmed. Not far away, on a nearby ledge overlooking the arena, Raven and Nevermore were watching.

"She did it!", she said dejectedly. "She took control of the entire school! What's next?"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: What's next, indeed! Will Raven and Dirk give in and join their mother in evil? Will they clear Raven's name? Will their friends stand by them and help them? And what will our royal monster couple do? Are they strong enough to take on the Evil Queen? Wait and see! LOL!**

 **I'm coming up on my 300** **th** **review for this! I have made a policy of every 100** **th** **review, that reviewer gets a kaiju cookie and gets to ask ONE spoiler question in a PM! I intend to do this for** ** _every_** **story I write here to show my appreciation to my readers, followers, and favoriters because I** ** _LOVE_** **getting reviews!**

 **xxXXxx**


	67. Chapter 66

**_Hey, Everyone! In this chapter, it appears Evil has won and all hope is lost. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 66

The school and arena are both on fire, and chaos reigned among the panicking crowd. Snow White is nowhere to be found. The dragonriders with ice-breathing dragons are fighting the fire, while Duncan and Clawdeen are doing their best to help.

"Book End breaking news! Blondie Lockes reporting live from what's left of the new dragon center, Ever After a devastating blaze! Headmaster Grimm just handed the Evil Queen the keys to the school! She vows to catch whoever started the fire, even it's her own daughter, Raven! The question remains: will this new Headmistress restore order to Ever After High, what with her being the Evil Queen and all? Let's go live for her statement."

"Students, don't get over-hexcited! I am but a temporary substitute", she stated in a calming tone. "Milton Grimm will resume leadership as headmaster as soon as this crisis is over."

"*ribbit*", a dazed-looking 'Milton' croaked behind her.

"He has a 'frog' in his throat", she grinned.

"I got a bad feeling about this", Clawdeen said, and Duncan nodded.

"I will personally see to it that the fire damage is repaired(her hands glow with magick…) spelltacularly quick!", She declared, with a grand flourish of her hands. With a wave of magick, the fire, smoke, and all the damage was gone! The now calm crowd 'ooooh'-ed and 'aaaah'ed, then applauded.

"See? Trust Headmistress Queenie", the Evil Queen smiled. "Everything is under control. Citizens, students, as you were! Nothing to see here!"

Back on the stands, Darling came across Daring's nearly empty seat.

"Hmmm? That's odd. Daring forgot his mirror", she said as she picked it up and put it in her purse. "He never goes anywhere without it."

Meanwhile, in the mirror-realm, Daring was freaking out! So many mirrors, and yet he couldn't see himself in **any** of them!

"Let me out of here!", he screamed ineffectually. "This face was meant to be **seen!** "

xxXXxx

The next morning in the stables, Arthur was helping Raven clean Nevermore's stall when Dirk entered, leading Shadow-Wing to the next stall after a morning flight.

"It's ok, Nevermore", Raven said comfortingly when her dragon whimpered apologetically.

"We know you didn't mean to start that fire", Arthur added.

"You're just another victim of our mom's evil magick", Dirk said as Shadow-Wing nuzzled Nevermore sympathetically.

Just then, Apple came in and stabled her dragon, Ivory.

"They're saying you set the fire", Apple said gently. "On purpose."

"Wha-? I didn't do it on purpose!", Raven protested. "Nevermore got spontaneous 'fire hiccups'! Augh! This has 'Evil Queen' written all over it!"

"Agreed!", both boys said.

"Well, don't worry. Your mom has promised to restore order", Apple said. "And she's so powerful, I know she can."

"Oh, come on!", Dirk scoffed.

"Do you really believe she would, Apple?", Raven said skeptically. "I mean…really? **Really?** "

"You should both give your mom another chance!", a conflicted Apple said after a pause. "You're both all about changing your stories. Your mom broke out of the mirror prison and—literally—walked across broken glass just to be with you two!"

"Wait! How could you know that?", Dirk asked suspiciously, just before they all figured it out when Apple looked down, ashamed.

"It was **you?!** ", Raven asked incredulous. " **You** released our mother?!"

"Sis!", Arthur couldn't believe it. "How **could** you?!"

"She promised-she promised me my happily ever after", Apple tried to explain. "And not just for me, but for the two of you, too! For **all** of us! You gotta admit, she has been a great dragon coach. She's fixed all the fire damage…..She's **changed** , Raven!"

"No, Apple. **You've** changed", Raven said with barely contained anger. "We are **so** not on the same page anymore! In fact, I don't think we're even in the same fairytale. I hope you find your happily ever after, Apple. I really do. But first, you better find a new roommate."

Raven headed for the door, followed closely by her brother.

"But….we were supposed to be friends forever after?", Apple said, her voice thick with regret.

"That's not how the story goes, Apple", Raven said. "Not **this** chapter, anyway. You can't be on both sides."

"Good or evil, Apple", Dirk added as they exited the stables. "Pick one."

"They have a point, Sis", Arthur said after the door creaked shut.

"Are you gonna walk out on me, too, Arthur?", she asked.

"No", he said. "I'm your brother. It's my job to protect you until your destiny calls."

"But what about Raven?"

"She might be mad at you right now—and to be honest, so am I—but I'm sure she understands my position. After all, she has a sibling, too."

Apple smiled wryly in thanks to her twin as she dialed their mother on her mirror-phone.

xxXXxx

Up in the second-highest tower of the school, in the large suite that the Evil Queen had made her new quarters, Snow's phone vibrated on the table. However, she was unable to answer, sealed as she was in a cylinder of purple magick that shocked her when she touched it. The Evil Queen turned the phone off as she walked by.

"Let me free!", Snow White demanded. "Let me speak to my children!"

"You've said plenty, Snowball", her rival sneered.

"The magickal binding is a bit overkill…even for **you!** "

"Would you be more comfortable in mirror prison, your majesty?", the Evil Queen grinned. She then walked over to the shelves holding her collection jars and glass tanks. "Or perhaps you'd rather join your beloved school staff….in **here?** "

The collection now also contained a grasshopper that used to be Professor Jack B. Nimble, a rat that was Professor Piper, a gerbil that used to be Baba Yaga, a lizard that was Giles Grimm, and a frog that used to be Miltom Grimm.

"Return us to our human forms at once!", Giles said.

"You've no right to hold us here and take over our school!", Milton said sternly, as he struggled—and succeeded!—to stand upright. "I won't stand for it!"

"I can see you're 'hopping mad', Milton", the Evil Queen laughed, as she tipped the jar slightly to make him fall over. "But this is my school now."

"They were right", Snow glared. "I was a fool to give you a second chance."

"Oh, I know your game", she sneered. "Bringing back the dragon center? You were going to wait until I made the slightest misstep, then lock me up again to remind everyone you're such a **perfect** queen. Well you'll have to think quick, Slow White. Because **_I_** have the upper hand now."

"Release me!", Snow demanded. "My subjects won't rest until they find their **true** queen."

" **Not** if no one knows you're gone", her rival smirked, conjuring up a white cobra coiled around her arm. She then magickally pulled Snow's essence from her body and transferred it to the snake. She placed it in an empty tank and closed the lid.

"You'll never get away with thisssssss!", she hissed.

"Mind your tongue, 'your majesty'!", the Evil Queen laughed evilly.

xxXXxx

Raven and Dirk were at their lockers, minding their own business.

"Well, if it isn't the fire-starter", a girl said as she walked by.

"Just like your mother!", her friend said.

"Hey!", Dirk growled.

"But I didn't….ugh!", Raven groaned, as her brother placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Then a friendly, familiar platinum-blonde walked up to them, still limping somewhat on her right leg.

"Hey, Darling", Raven said, "Let's say a particular student or two needed to hide out for a while, where would they go?"

"If those 'particular students' wanted to find a place where, let's say, the Evil Queen couldn't reach them?", Darling smirked conspiratorially. "I know a perfect secret place in the Enchanted Forest. We **are** talking about you two, right?"

"Uh, Yeah", Dirk said sheepishly.

"I'll take you there on one condition: you count me in on whatever you're up to."

"Deal!", Raven smiled as she shook Darling's hand. "Meet us in the stables after school. Come alone."

As they split up, none of them noticed Fayebelle at her locker.

'So Raven is trying to go rogue?', she thought to herself. Then an evil grin split her face. 'If I catch her trying to bail, then the Evil Queen will **have** to take **me** seriously as a future villain!'

Later that afternoon, Raven and Dirk had to carefully sneak past the sleeping dark dragons that were stationed outside the stables. Once inside, they got Nevermore and Shadow-Wing ready to ride.

"I think we're ready", Dirk said.

"Good", Raven replied. "Darling should be here any minute."

Just then, they heard the door open. Darling waved as she stepped in….followed by Holly, Poppy, Ashelynn, and Maddie; who giggled softly as she came in. Behind her came Duncan, Clawdeen, and Arthur.

"What part of 'come alone' didn't you get?", Dirk asked, as Arthur embraced Raven and kissed her.

"Well, it might be dangerous", Holly said. "So we thought you could use some back-up."

"Danger is my middle name!", Maddie smiled. "Well, actually it's Xylophone."

"And who better to help out in the woods than a werewolf?", Clawdeen smirked.

"Thanks, you guys", Raven said gratefully.

"Then I guess this is where I say 'good-bye', my love", Arthur said, kissing Raven again. "I have to stay, just in case my sister needs me."

"I understand", Raven told him, returning the kiss.

"I'm staying, too", Duncan said.

"Whoa-whoa!", Clawdeen said, rounding on her mate with an arched eye-brow. "What are you talkin' about, Hot-Stuff?"

"Come on", he said. "We all know that when the Evil Queen realizes Dirk and Raven have flown the coop, she's gonna go **ballistic**. And when she does, **I'll** be here to take her down!"

"Has your pilot-light gone out?!", Clawdeen growled. "Why do you have to be so reckless?! That witch is at least as powerful as Boodika Le Fey! What makes you so sure you can win?"

"Sweetie, I love you, but we don't have time to argue about this", Duncan said, kissing his mate. "You all need to get going!"

"He's right", Darling said. "Everyone, get your dragons. You can ride with me, Clawdeen."

They all mounted up and were about to leave, when they heard the dark dragons waking in a foul mood.

"This'll buy you some lead time", Duncan smirked, as he threw a couple of full, 100lb. bags of food out the door which busted open in the midst of the dragons. As predicted, the waking dark dragons went straight for the food.

Fayebelle arrived moments after Duncan and the others took off in opposite directions. She didn't see him heading back up to the school, but she saw the others as they flew toward the Enchanted Forest.

"Ugh! I'm too late!", she griped, then turned to scold the remaining black dragons. "Bad dragons!"

The only response came from the one who belched in her face; splattering her with half-eaten food!

xxXXxx

" **They did** ** _WHAT?!",_** the Evil Queen shrieked, her voice distorting with anger and power.

"I just said, they ran off to the Enchanted Forest, right before you screamed, 'they did WHAT'?!", Fayebelle said.

"All you call yourself a minion", the queen said with disdain. She slammed both hands down on the Headmaster's desk then magickally conjured up her magick scepter-staff. "I've restrained myself because my children attend this school of fools. If Raven and Dirk are gone, then I declare school is **out** …for **evil!** "

She walked out onto the wide balcony and slammed down the bottom of her staff, unleashing a massive wave of dark magick! The wave of purple power sundered the ground around the school, and Ever After High began to lift into the sky as the students scrambled for safety in a panic. Evil roots, vines, and branches writhed around and into the school as it as was carried skyward! Ramona and Prof. Badwolf were running down a hall, when he became entangled.

"Dad!", she yelled in concern.

"Ramona! Save yourself!", he yelled.

Cerise came running down from the other direction, jumping and dodging the out of control plants.

"Come on!", she said to her sister. "Help me get him free!"

Cerise began pulling on the roots holding their father, as Ramona slashed them with her claws, freeing him.

"Haha!", he chuckled as he hugged them both. "I **love** my daughters!"

"Attention staff and students!", the Evil Queen announced through all the mirror-screens and pads in the school. "I have learned that Raven and Dirk have abandoned Ever After High. So I don't see the point of continuing this charade. I've decided to make a few changes around here, starting **_NOW!"_**

She laughed evilly as the school reached an altitude of over 2000 feet! The out of control roots and branches damaged several walls and sealed several doors.

"Oh my cards!", Lizzie cried, as she tried to open a door. "We're trapped!"

"Due to our recent remodel, all classes are canceled and replaced with evil servitude", the Evil Queen announced.

"But I was going ice-skating later!", Duchess sniped.

"Evil moms", Kitty said from her limb as Duchess walked by. "Can't live with them, can't cross 'em."

"Look on the bright side", Dexter said optimistically, with his arm around Cupid as they looked out a damaged wall. "You cannot beat this view."

Up in the tower, the Evil Queen laughed.

"My children won't abandon their friends for long", she said. "When they hear of this, they'll come **running** back to Mommy's arms!"

 ** _"I don't think so!"_**

She turned to see who had the **audacity** to speak to her in that manner. She faced a fully transformed Duncan, snarling in defiance. Fayebelle wisely beat a hasty retreat!

"Ah, the half-human descendant of Draxus the Savior", she chuckled evilly.

"That's right!", he growled. "You might as well give up right now!"

"You **dare** to challenge **me?** ", she said in a dangerous tone. "Come on, then!"

Duncan let loose the most powerful stream of fire he could, exceeding all others before, expecting the Evil Queen to fall in defeat. She laughed, the magickal shield she raised easily protecting her, but not without considerable effort on her part.

'This boy's power is impressive!', she thought to herself. 'He's **far** more powerful than a full-grown dragon!'

Duncan switched to fire-balls, which she easily deflected with her magick.

"Foolish boy! Your power will now serve **me!** ", she declared, sending a far more powerful, and permanent, version of the spell she had used to control Nevermore at him. He fought with all his iron will, using the dicplines and techniques he'd learned from Jinafire…..but it wasn't enough! He fell to his knees and slumped, his eyes now glowing magenta. He snarled like a mindless beast.

"Calm yourself, my pet", she chuckled. "You are **mine** **forever** now. And I will have need of you soon. But first, I have a use for my old minions."

She took out her mirror-phone and dialed a familiar number from memory.

xxXXxx

Lashor was enjoying life as he lounged on the throne of his former mistress. Since her imprisonment, he and his company of orcs had been getting rich just robbing travellers and raiding the farms and villages for anything they wanted or needed. The authorities could never find this old fortress in Thornwood, that's why their former mistress chose it as one of her many strongholds. His fellow orcs sat at the long banquet-table in front of him, feasting. The wrath of their former mistress would be terrible if she saw the sloppy shambles they had made of the place in her absence. Lashor himself leaned back on the throne, one leg draped over an armrest, as he finished a turkyleg and simply tossed the bone over his shoulder for the rats. His mirror-phone began to ring.

"Who are ya and whatd'ya want?", he growled irritably when he blindly answered.

"LASHOR! You useless excuse of an orc captain! **Look** at me when I speak to you!"

Lashor fell off of the throne as he fumbled fearfully for his phone when he recognized the voice!

"M-m-m-mistress!", he cried, and a hush of fear fell over his troops. "Y-y-you're free?!"

"Of course I'm free, you fool!", the Evil Queen chided him. "No thanks to you! I'm at Ever After High and I have a task for you."

"Anything you command, M-mistress!"

"Hexcellent! You and your fellow orcs are to search the enchanted forest for my teenage children and their friends", she said. "Do as you please with the others, but bring my son and daughter to me **unharmed!** Be cautious! Their mounts are adolescent dragons. Spare those of my children if you can, but bring them to me! Fail me, or if a single hair on either of my children is harmed, you will **all** suffer a fate worse than death!"

"As you command, Mistress!", Lashor said as he hung up. Then he cracked his whip; his favorite weapon. "You heard our mistress! Get your weapons and fall in! Move! Move! Move!"

Minutes later, they moved out, exiting the fort in three columns; marching like well trained soldiers toward the Enchanted Forest. They began to sing their old marching song to the tune of Lashor's whip.

 ** _*WHIPLASH!*_**

 _Where there's a whip,_ _ ***WHIPLASH!***_

 _there's a way._

 _Where there's a whip,_ _ ***WHIPLASH!***_

 _there's a way._

 _Where there's a whip,_

 _We don't wanna go to war today,_

 _But the Lord of the Lash says "nay, nay, nay!"_

 _We're gonna march all day, all day, all day!_

 _Where there's a whip, there's a way!_

 _Where there's a whip,_ _ ***WHIPLASH!***_

 _there's a way._

 _Where there's a whip,_ _ ***WHIPLASH!***_

 _there's a way._

 _Where there's a whip there's a way,_

 _Left, right, left, right, left._

 _Where there's a whip there's a way! Left, right._

 _A crack on the back says, "We're gonna fight!"_

 _We're gonna march all day and night,_

 _And more….._

 _For we are the slaves of the Dark Queen's war,_

 _Left, right, left, right, left, right._

 _Where there's a whip,_ _ ***WHIPLASH!***_

 _there's a way._

 _Where there's a whip,_ _ ***WHIPLASH!***_

 _there's a way._

 _Where there's a whip,_

 _We don't wanna go to war today,_

 _But the Lord of the Lash says "nay, nay, nay!"_

 _We're gonna march all day, all day, all day!_

 _Where there's a whip, there's a way!_

 _Left, right, left, right, left, right_

 ** _*WHIPLASH!*_**

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: The Evil Queen has reduced Duncan to a mindless beast under her control! Plus she's taken the whole school prisoner and sent her forces after Raven and Dirk! How can things** ** _possibly_** **get any** ** _worse_** **?! Wait and see! LOL!**

 **My take on the orcs here in Ever After is different from the more humanoid ones I'm using in the Monster High world, where they are part of the Subterran community. The EA orcs are more savage and beastial and resemble those from the Rankin/Bass animated versions of "The Hobbit" and "Return of the King", and the song is also from that version of RotK. The song is easy to find online if anyone wants to hear it.**

 **xxXXxx**


	68. Chapter 67

**_Hey, Everyone! I know that in the video, the forest creatures who helped our heroes were called 'pixies', but they just don't look like pixies to me. To me, pixies are mini-fairies resembling Tinkerbell and the other fairies of Pixie Hollow. So for my story, I'm calling those helpful little beings 'sprites'. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 67

The dragonriders had flown far over the Enchanted Forest, with Darling in the lead. Clawdeen took in the scenery as they flew. Darling finally found the small clearing she was looking for and brought them all in to land.

"This place reminds me of the Whispering Woods back home", Clawdeen said as she slid down off of Glacia with Darling. The others all dismounted as well, while Darling looked around until she saw a bush twitch. She kneeled to look with a smile.

"This is no time to stop and smell the flowers, Darling", Raven said.

"Yeah, we thought you knew a secret place where we could hide?", Dirk added.

" **I** don't", Darling confessed. "But **_she_** does!"

She turned back toward the bush, as an adorable face sporting green-tinted skin, blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair became visible with a look of curiosity from within the bush.

"*gasp!* A woodland sprite!", Ashlynn said as the little being came out of the bush, her flowery dress shimmering with teal, and began to check her out: her clothes her hair, etc. "How hexciting! How do you do? They're very magickal. The sprites protect the Enchanted Forest."

"Just like the gnomes and pixies back home", Clawdeen smiled. The sprite then jabbered.

"She says her name is 'Featherly'!", Ashlynn translated. Then another sprite appeared and chattered excitedly around Darling. Clawdeen gasped slightly, as this one was very similar to Maru, the deer-elf who'd helped her during her quest months ago! Only this sprite was dressed in a colorful, flowery dress.

"And that's Deerla", Ashlynn said, as Deerla kneeled down and placed her hand on Darling's injured leg. "She can tell you're hurt, Darling.(more chattering, Deerla's hand glows) She says that should heal you."

"Wow! Good as new!", Darling said, dancing a little, just as another sprite dropped into her arms from the tree above her. This one had long red hair, a flowery dress, and looked like a mini version of Bunny Blanc from school. She also jabbered briefly. "And this is Harelow!"

"We better move somewhere less out in the open", Poppy said.

"Yeah. Please help us, Sprites?", Raven asked. "We need a place to hide from the Evil Queen."

The sprites chattered and nodded, gesturing to follow them deeper into the forest. After a short while, they were walking along a stream, and they stopped briefly to drink.

"I hope everyone is ok back at Ever After", Poppy said.

"Well, with the Evil Queen in charge, who can say?", Holly replied. Dirk and Raven shared a look as the started walking again, a look that Clawdeen caught.

"Be honest with me, you two", Clawdeen whispered worriedly. "Does Duncan stand a chance against your mom?"

"All I know is that our mom is the most powerful and evil villain ever after since Diagon himself", Dirk said.

"I grew up with her", Raven said. "I **know** how powerful she is. I can tell Duncan has only shown us a **fraction** of what he's capable of. But against our mom? I honestly don't know, Clawdeen. I'm sorry."

"Thanks for bein' honest", Clawdeen breathed, thinking of her love.

"Has anyone seen my brother Daring lately?", Darling asked the group.

"Well, I haven't felt like punching him in his perfect teeth since the dragongames", Dirk chuckled until all the girls gave him a deadpan look. "So that's a 'no' for me."

"I saw him at school lots of times, and at the dragon center, and once in a dream; but he was a goat", Maddie smiled.

"Why, Darling? Are you worried?", Holly asked.

"Yeah, I mean he's tied with Arthur as third toughest fighter at your school behind Duncan and Dirk, ain't he?", Clawdeen asked. "I wouldn't worry too much."

"I don't like it", Darling said, looking into the mirror she found on his seat at the arena. "It's not like him to misplace his hand mirror."

In the mirror realm, Daring could hear what she'd said as he looked out at her.

"No, I **wouldn't** misplace it, dear sister!", he said frantically. "I'm misplaced **in** it! It's torture! AAAGH! Let me out!"

The sprites led them to a waterfall…..then around behind it to their hidden grove. More sprites were there and made them all welcome. In thanks for the sprites' hospitality, they helped gather wood for the fire.

They were just getting settled, when an owl flew into the grove, which was odd as the sun was not yet set. It flew to Featherly and they seemed to have a conversation, the context of which drew a gasp from Ashlynn.

"Bad news!", she said. "A troop of orcs has crossed into the Enchanted Forest from Thornwood! They seem to be searching."

"Probably for **us** ", Dirk said. "It's probably Lashor and his troop. They've served the Evil Queen for years, under my dad's command for a while. They're ruthless and brutal. According to my dad, they operate out of an old fort hidden in Thornwood."

"Mom must've contacted them and sent them to find us!", Raven said. "And if it's a whole troop, there might be too many for us."

"Everyone get ready, just in case", Dirk said, checking his weapons. "Clawdeen, think you're up to helping me quietly thin the herd?"

"I'll keep score", the werewolf replied with a feral grin. "Loser buys the next round of lattes."

xxXXxx

"Keep searching!", Lashor barked. "They're here somewhere…..Spread out! Leave no stone un-turned!"

 ***WHIPLASH!***

The sun had not yet set, but the canopy of the trees made for a forest shrouded in shadows. Plus this forest was crawling with far too many sprites for Lashor's taste! His orcs were strong, vicious, and loyal; but most of them were also stupid. And spread out to search like this made them vulnerable. The sprites were unlikely to openly challenge him and his fellow orcs, but the humans and their dragons, however….at least two of the humans were the mistress' progeny, and one of them was a witch like her! The other was also the son of his former commander: the Black Knight! Even if Lashor found them, it would likely require a miracle to capture them unharmed. So he decided he would use the other humans as leverage to force their cooperation.

One pair of orcs was searching, poking around the brush with their pikes. One was suddenly grabbed from behind by the throat by a clawed hand and dragged out of sight as his throat was ripped out. When the other turned to where his friend had been a moment ago to see him missing….a shadow dropped on him from above; a flash of a hidden-blade and he was pulled behind a tree before he fell, leaving no trace for their fellows to see if they looked in their direction.

"That's eight down so far, four each", Dirk whispered with a grin. "I thought the monsters of your world didn't kill?"

"As a general rule, we haven't since the wars ended", Clawdeen explained. "But these things reek of death and innocent blood; so I got no problem killing them. Duncan would feel the same way."

"Hey, I'm cool with that", Dirk smiled. "Let's keep going. If they get too close to the grove, we'll have to risk open combat to take out as many as we can and warn the others."

Several minutes later, they crept up behind two more. One on the left, Clawdeen snapped his neck and ripped out his throat in one move and pulled him into the brush while Dirk back-stabbed the other and hid his body.

They picked off ten more using stealth kills, but they were getting closer and closer to the grove….and their friends.

"If the mistress only wants her children, why can't we just kill the others and be done with it?", an orc with a broken horn asked his friend.

"Because we can make those two do what we want by threatening their friends, you idiot!", the taller one said. "Lashor told us the mistress' kids are powerful! You remember how strong the Black Knight was? Well he trained his son! And this 'Raven' is a powerful witch like her mother! I don't know about you, but if we can…." His eyes widened as he saw a pair of amber eyes shining in the shadows behind his stupid partner. Then he felt something sharp pierce the back of his neck into his skull, then he felt no more. His broken horned friend fell a half second later, his throat torn out.

Clawdeen looked back up at her partner with a grin, and Dirk saw her eyes widen just before he caught the smell of rank breath. As he spun, he pivoted his right blade to grip it point 'down', and drove it into the orc's right ear. For a moment, the orc remained poised to stab him. Then he fell as his body realized his brain was dead.

"That was close", he whispered as he reset his pivot-blade and retracted it.

"Uh-oh", Clawdeen said ominously. "I just heard one of these guys tell their boss that he thinks he found our friends."

"I didn't hear anything", Dirk said, having senses that were sharpened by training and battle.

"Werewolf", she tapped one of her ears. "And I'm the Alpha, so I hear even better than most."

"Then I guess the time for sneaking around is over", he said as he drew his sword. "We run full speed back to the others, taking out as many of these scum-bags as loud as we can along the way. That will warn our friends and help even the odds until we get there."

Clawdeen grinned as she bared both sets of claws with a growl.

"I've been wanting to try these modifications to my hidden-blades", he smiled. A moment ago, he'd used his new pivot-blade on his right arm/hand. Now he extended the hook-blade on his left arm, the perfect compliment to his father's sword; the Ebony Blade, in his right hand. The hook-blade could be used on the run or in straight combat for stabbing, hooking, and/or disarming an enemy.

"Ready?"

"Yup."

"YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!", Dirk yelled as they dashed forward into the ranks of the orcs, swinging his sword and hook-blade at any green-skinned fiend that moved.

"AAAAAAAWROOOOOOOOOHOOOHOOO!", Clawdeen howled chillingly as she slashed orcs left and right with her claws.

Lashor and the orcs were completely surprised! They didn't even know what was happening until six of their fellows were on the ground dead or screaming due to grievous wounds! When Lashor finally saw their attackers, his heart filled with dread. First of all, the mistress had said **nothing** about a **wolf** being with them! But **worse** than that…..

"I **know** that sword!", he yelled. " ** _The Ebony Blade!_** It's **him!** The son of our Queen and the Black Knight! Stop him, you fools! But don't hurt him, or our mistress will flay us all alive!"

'So she wants us unharmed, does she?', Dirk thought as he up-ended an orc with his hook-blade and decapitated another with his sword. 'We might be able to use that to our advantage!'

He and Clawdeen broke through the orc ranks and into the clear, with only a few stragglers between them and the grove.

Lashor suddenly realized that Dirk and the wolf had come from **behind** them! He found the bodies of the three sentries and deduced that most, if not all, the rear guards were dead! Between that and the casualties just now, he didn't even have half his troop left to take the camp! His anger began to match his fear of his mistress.

"Raaauuugh! Regroup! You!", he turned to the one who had reported seeing a column of smoke; possibly a campfire. The only reason those two would've abandoned stealth would be if his orcs had found the others. "Lead us to where you saw the smoke!"

xxXXxx

Dirk and Clawdeen burst into the grove and drew up short when Raven readied her magick.

"Whoa, Sis! It's just us!", Dirk called.

"But the rest of those slimy horn-toads could be here any minute", Clawdeen said.

"Yeah, we knew they had to be close when we heard you howl, Clawdeen", Darling said.

"That's why we and the sprites have been getting ready", Raven said.

"Can we assume they're coming from the same direction?", Poppy asked.

"Most likely", Dirk confirmed. "Lashor may be somewhat smarter than the average orc, but judging from what my dad has told me about him, he'll be too mad to think straight after everything we did. One more thing: he's under orders to take you and me unharmed, Sis, and he fears Mom too much to fail her in any way."

"I hear them", Clawdeen said. "They're almost here. Get ready."

Most of the girls took cover behind boulders and trees with piles of rocks to throw. Raven took center-stage with her magick. Dirk ran over to Shadow-Wing and came back with another sword.

"Here, Darling", he said, handing it to her. "I brought a spare for you."

"Thanks", she blushed.

Moments later, they could all hear the orcs approaching. Lashor and some of his remaining orcs stepped just inside the fire-light. Rage was written all over his fugly tusked face. He uncoiled his whip. ***WHIPLASH!***

"Dirk Knight! Raven Queen! Children of our mistress!", he snarled. "Your mother only wants you returned to her! Come with us peacefully and we will spare your friends! Refuse and they will die slowly and horribly!"

"You don't have what it takes to capture us unharmed, Lashor!", Dirk shouted. "Yes, I know of you! My father told me all about you! And I bet Mom threatened to kill you if you failed or any harm came to either me or Raven, didn't she? So what we have here is a stand-off."

"Don't test me, boy!", the orc captain snarled as the rest of his orcs appeared behind him as he slowly stepped closer. "If your father told you of me, then you know I don't play games! Surrender!"

"To **you?!** You must be joking!", Dirk laughed. "My dad **did** tell me about you. He told me you were just a bloodthirsty brute with no tact or style! That without a **real** leader to command you, you were only a brainless bandit! He told me he lost count of all the times he wanted to **kill** you himself for your incompetence! Our mom must be truly **desperate** for minions to scrape **you** off the bottom of the barrel!"

"Eeeaaauuugh!"

"Dirk", Raven whispered. "You're making him mad!"

"I know", he grinned. "That's the plan."

"Ah!", now she understood! Make the orc angry enough and he'll make a mistake.

"And judging by how **easy** it was for me and my friend to pick off your second-rate orcs", Dirk sneered, "you've either gone soft or gotten even **more** **_incompetent_** in my dad's absence!"

"RAAAUUUGH! TAKE THEM!", Lashor roared, urging his 'troops' forward. Many found themselves being pelted painfully with stones, attacked with blades or claws, or dodging fire-balls and blasts of ice from the dragons! Lashor was enraged, as were his troops. He was sure that that anger and sheer numbers could still overwhelm them. He hoped his mistress would understand if her children were unavoidably injured as long as he delivered them alive.

"Everyone down!", a very angry Raven called out to her friends, her magick surging in her hands. Her brother and friends hit the dirt. Lashor, seeing her do the same as he'd seen his mistress do in anger, ducked behind a tree!

 _"Nrut otni snekcihc!"_ , she called, sending a wave of magick that struck all the remaining orcs….turning them all into chickens! Lashor peeked out, and saw his former troops looking at themselves and each other, bewildered. Clawdeen jumped in front of them, looking down at them with a feral grin.

"Hey, guys", she called, then licked her lips hungrily. "Anyone else wants **chicken** for dinner?"

"BA-KAAAW!", many of them cried loudly as they scrambled all over each other to escape, clucking wildly and feathers flying everywhere! All the teens laughed at the cartoonishly hilarious sight.

That was it. Lashor took to his heels with all the speed he could muster. Dirk saw him, and pulled up his jacket sleeve just far enough to deploy the mini-crossbow arms from the top of his hidden-blade cuff, took aim, and fired. The bolt skewered Lashor's right calf and he fell. He got back up and tried vainly to keep running; limping heavily. Dirk repeated the process with his other arm, impaling Lashor's other calf. This time he stayed down. He pulled out his mirror-phone and dialed his mistress.

xxXXxx

The Evil Queen was walking through the halls of Ever After High, an evil grin on her lips watching the students run and hide from her.

"Fayebelle, I need you to place dark dragons to guard every possible escape!", she said to the young dark fairy beside her. "Nobody leaves! Then come back to me."

"Yes, your Horribleness!", Fayebelle saluted then fluttered away.

When she was alone, the Evil Queen's mirror-phone rang. Lashor's number.

"Lashor, have you found my children yet?", she demanded when she answered. Strange. He appeared to laying prone on the ground,

"Forgive me, my Queen!", he grunted, apparently in pain, just before she saw a black sword impale him through the back! Then a quick flash of Dirk's face and a blade and the call went dead.

"I shouldn't be surprised!", she hissed. "Those orcs were **always** incompetent! If they weren't so delightfully vicious and occasionally useful, I would have turned them all into toads long ago! I'll have to find them another way."

Back in the main hall, Jillian Beanstalk tossed a few magick beans out one of the holes in the wall. Within minutes, a beanstalk grew up to and past the opening. She turned to Humphry Dumpty.

"As my dad Jack always says: the trick is don't look down!", she told him. As they were about to jump onto the beanstalk, a dark dragon appeared and roared, with Fayebelle on his back.

"Halt! This is restricted airspace!", the fairy said through a megaphone. "Please return to the floating, evil school!"

The dragon then breathed a blast of flames near the opening for emphasis!

xxXXxx

"Well, Mom won't be tracking or locating us from his phone", Dirk smirked, tossing the broken fragments on the ground when he returned from finishing off Lashor.

"Maybe", Raven said. "But you can be sure she won't give up."

"And if she went spooktacularly crazy as predicted, then what happened to Duncan?", Clawdeen asked, now very worried about her mate.

"I doubt she'd hurt him, Clawdeen", Dirk said, trying to reassure her. "With all the power he has **and** his connections to all of us, he's too valuable to her to destroy."

"But she could just as easily decide he's too powerful or dangerous to keep around!", she said tearfully. "Couldn't she?"

"I won't lie to you, Clawdeen", Raven told her. "It's possible, but very unlikely. She's far more likely to keep him contained somehow."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: This one was fun! I confess that the main reason I brought in Lashor and his orcs was to write another battle and showcase Clawdeen and Dirk, especially the mods he made to his hiddn-blades! Yes, I went with the pivot-blade for his right arm, the hook-blade for his left, and crossbow on both. The spell Raven used to turn them into chickens was inspired by how DC Comics has Zatanna do her magick: by speaking backwards! And also from that one time that she accidentally turned Headmaster Grimm into a chicken-man! That was hilarious!**

 **What's gonna happen next? Wait and see! But I promise it will turn fairytale convention on it's head! LOL!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	69. Chapter 68

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter, the classic rules of Fairytales get turned upside-down! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 68

Apple was sitting on her bed, the dorm room in damaged disarray; a large hole in the wall where the window once was. She was crying bitterly, her tears falling onto the picture of her and Raven that she was holding.

"Why the waterworks?", the Evil Queen asked as she came in. "Upset that my Dirk and Raven flew the coop? We'll get them back."

"Everything went wrong!", Apple cried tearfully. "This is not how I thought high school would be!"

"Chin up, Apple-cheeks", the queen said. "Any idea where your roomie and her brother went? Perhaps they went to a special hiding place in the Enchanted Forest?"

"If I knew I would tell her she was right about you and beg her to forgive me!", Apple shouted as she stood and walked over to look out the hole in the wall. "You've ruined **everything!** I was a **fool** to believe you'd changed, or that you cared about anyone's happily ever after but your own! Now the future of Ever After High is literally up in the air, and it's all **my** fault!"

"Oh, poor, pathetic Apple White", she sneered. "I think our 'deal' is done. Tell you what: since you've helped me so very much, here's an 'apple' from the teacher."

The Evil Queen conjured a shriveled, old-looking apple and held it out to the girl.

"Agh! Gross! I'm not touching that! It looks….poison!", Apple cried.

"Of course it's poison!", the Evil Queen barked, her magick flaring to make it look ripe and edible. Then in a calmer tone, "One bite out of **this** , and you'll enter the next phase of your fairytale."

"B-but I can't **choose** my enchanted sleep….can I?"

"Take it or leave it", the queen said. "But you **are** leaving **my** school."

"I-I'm not going anywhere", Apple said.

"Your usefulness has ended", the Evil Queen said, her voice starting to distort with her flaring magick.

"NO!", a voice yelled, just before Arthur slid to a halt between Apple and the Evil Queen, holding the Shield of Virtue to protect them. "I **won't** let you hurt my sister!"

"You!", she sneered, her eyes narrowing, the distortion of her voice increasing. "Arthur White. The boy who corrupted my daughter with 'love'! I suppose this is fitting. Consider yourselves…. ** _HEX-SPELLED!_** _"_

Arthur blocked the blast of dark magick with his shield, but the sheer force of it knocked him and Apple through the hole in the wall behind them!"

"Wow! You hex-spelled them right out the window?!", Fayebelle said as she fluttered in.

"Nothing happens by accident in my domain", the queen smirked. "Those two just needed a 'push' to find Raven and Dirk in the Enchanted Forest, that's all."

Apple was screaming as she fell. Arthur saw the beanstalk right next to them and got an idea.

"Apple! Get on my back!", he yelled to his sister as he twisted around until the shield was under them and she was clinging to his back.

"Ooooff!", he grunted as they began to hit large leaves and then one of the lesser stalks twisted around the main stem. They began to slide on it using the shield like a sled, until they safely reached the ground.

"*huff!* whoo! I'm ok!", Apple said as she stood.

"Me, too", her brother said. "Let's go!"

"Oh! Very impressive, your rotten-ness", Fayebelle said after observing the twins' landing. "How can I help?"

"You follow them, you foolish fairy!", the Evil Queen told her. "Report back to me when they lead you to my childrens' hideout and then we will capture them."

"Ahh. And What about Apple?", Fayebelle smiled.

"Well I **did** promise Apple her happily ever after. Here, take this", she smirked, tossing her the poison apple.

xxXXxx

Apple and Arthur entered the dragon stables hoping against hope that….Yes! Ivory was still there in her stall, and greeted them happily.

"You are a dragon for sore eyes!" Apple told her, hugging her. She then stepped over to her riding gear, while Arthur watched the door. "Time to turn the page. We've got to find the others so I can apologize, then get them to help me re-imprison the Evil Queen."

"Let's be quick, before the dark dragons come back", Arthur said, slinging the shield onto his back.

Fayebelle fluttered to the stables. She started to open the doors when they suddenly burst open, knocking her aside roughly!

"Heeyah!", Apple cried, urging Ivory onward into the air. Arthur was seated right behind her on Ivory's back.

"Note to self: get dragon-proof armor!", the dazed dark fairy said to herself before she shook it off and fluttered off in pursuit.

She followed them far over the Enchanted Forest, and her wings were getting tired.

"I knew I should've taken a dragon", she panted.

Ivory suddenly crooned, sniffing the air.

"What is it, Girl?", Apple asked, as Ivory descended into a small clearing.

"I think she smells something, Sis", Arthur said as they dismounted and started to look around.

"That's the trouble with enchanted stuff", Apple said. "What we're looking for could be right in front of us."

Just then, Ivory crooned again, this time accompanied by giggles. The White twins looked back to see Deerla and Harelo playing with Ivory.

"Oh! Well, that seems like a sign", Apple smiled.

"Can you please take us to our friends, sprites?", Arthur asked politely. They nodded and led the way, chattering in their own language. Apple led Ivory along by the reins.

Unnoticed, Fayebelle appeared from behind a tree.

"Ugh, sprites. Wannabe fairies!", she scoffed as she followed quietly.

The sprites led Apple and Arthur to the waterfall, then seemed to disappear.

"Hello?", Apple called. "This is no time for games, little sprites."

"We still need you", Arthur added.

Up in the tree above them, Fayebelle watched. When her mirror-phone suddenly vibrated, she scrambled somewhat to answer it, trying not to be heard.

"So, what's the bad word?", the Evil Queen asked. "Have those two led you to my children? Or am I going to have to turn you into a slug?"

"Ssshhhh! You almost got me caught!", Fayebelle whispered, then she fumbled and dropped her phone. "Oh, zap it!"

Then she noticed the twins and their dragon were gone.

"Well, this is just great….First I drop my phone, then those two disappear with those sprites", she griped. Then she looked over and them disappearing down a tunnel behind the waterfall.

Once through the tunnel, the twins saw their friends sitting and laughing around a fire in the center of a grove that the sprites appeared to call home, along with many other sprites and forest pixies.

"Raven!", Arthur called, and rushed down to embrace his surprised girlfriend. After breaking their kiss, Raven noticed Apple.

"I thought you said this place was a secret?", she grumbled to Darling, who shrugged.

"Raven."

"Apple", her tone clearly sounding not happy, until Apple got her attention by saying:

"I'm sorry, I was selfish", she confessed, sounding ashamed.

"Go on", Raven urged, hinting that she was listening.

"Your mom **hasn't** changed. **I** had", Apple said. "And now I want to change again….for the better, for **good**. I know I can't turn back the pages, but I believe we can **all** have our happily ever afters. But not until we **stop** your mom."

"And we **will** , my Friend", Raven smiled, putting a reassuring hand on Apple's shoulder. Apple smiled, glad that her friend had forgiven her.

Watching from a hiding place far up in a tree, Fayebelle dialed the Evil Queen.

"The Raven has landed! Repeat, the Raven has landed! Initiate operation: roasted marshmallow!"

"Fayebelle, no need to speak in code", the Queen told her. "Plant the poison apple. I'll send in young Hook with the dark dragons and my new favorite 'pet'*evil chuckle*."

The dark fairy grinned as she hung up. She checked on the dragons nearby, and saw that they were all asleep. She crept into the bushes as the sprites brought out a large basket of fruit. Featherly jabbered to Ashlynn, who took a ripe pear.

"Why, thank you, Featherly", Ashlynn said then turned to the others as Featherly carried the basket around to each of them. "The sprites say that if we intend to face the Evil Queen, we need to nourish ourselves."

Everyone took a piece of fruit or two as they kept talking. No one noticed an apple was added to the basket as it passed a bush.

"This is going to be fairy, fairy dangerous", Apple said, as she took a shiny red apple. "The evil Queen has turned most of the staff into creatures. The place is like a mile high off the ground, and surrounded by dark dragons she controls!"

"Then we need our strength", Raven said, taking a cluster of grapes. "Thanks."

"What about Duncan?", Clawdeen asked, worried, peeling a blood-orange.

"No one has seen him since he went to challenge her, Clawdeen", Arthur told her. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, Apple, I'll trade ya?", Dirk said, offering his apple for hers.

"But, Dirk, that apple is **green**."

"It's a special kind of apple", he chuckled. "It's **supposed** to be green. It's sweet with a tart kick to it."

"I've never tried one like that", she said, intrigued. "Okay."

They traded apples and Fayebelle gasped fearfully to herself from the shadows.

Dirk lifted the red apple to his mouth and took a bite. He suddenly didn't feel so good, as his vision clouded with dark magick. He looked at the apple as it shriveled and turned black in his hand. He stood as he started to choke.

"Dirk?", Raven said in concern.

"Are you ok?", Ashlynn asked, as she and the others became concerned. He took a few steps and collapsed.

"Dirk!", Raven cried. She rushed to his side, and found the apple as the others gathered behind her.

"Where did this come from?!", she asked as it turned to dust in her hand.

"What kind of apple turns **black**?", Holly asked.

"Is he ok?", Maddie asked fearfully.

Apple was now beside Raven, trying to help by lifting and cradling his head. He whispered to her, then slumped.

"What did he say?", Poppy asked. Apple turned to Raven, tears in her eyes.

"He says, how this fairytale ends is up to **you** now, Raven", Apple told her tearfully. Tears began rolling down Raven's cheeks. "I'm sorry, Raven! That apple was meant for **me!** "

"It's not your fault, Apple", Raven said.

"We should see if he's breathing", Darling said, pressing her ear to his chest.

"Is he…?", Holly started, then they all heard him snore loudly.

"He's breathing, all right", Poppy smiled after they all let out a breath in relief.

Just then, they heard dragon roars from above. They looked up to see the dark dragons circling, with Hadrian Hook astride one of them, and being joined by Fayebelle. Another shape joined them with a familiar roar.

"Duncan?!", Clawdeen cried. He roared again like a mindless, vicious beast, his eyes glowing with dark magick. "That bitch took control of him!"

"Get Raven and Dirk!", Fayebelle yelled, and the dragons and Duncan began to descend to attack. Fayebelle figured that if her mentor created the poison apple, she must have an antidote as well….she hoped.

Raven stepped forward and hurled magick fire-balls at them, to little effect. She and the others had to dodge their swooping attack. As the dark dragons and Duncan circled back around, the sprites gathered around Raven to lend her their magick. Combined with her own power, Raven quickly thought of a spell.

 _"Dark dragons that attack by night, I cast you_ _ **back**_ _till morning light!"_ , she cried, a magickal shield-dome spreading and rising from her the protect the grove and everyone inside it, pushing back their attackers and deflecting their fire and ice attacks back at them. This made them retreat, the dragons whimpering in pain they'd never felt before. Savage Duncan followed in frustration.

"No! Heel!", Fayebelle yelled.

"Argh! What are ya, dragons or chickens?", Hook added. Still, they flew away, back toward Ever After High.

"We're coming for you, Raveeeeeen!", Fayebelle yelled as they faded into the distance.

The shield disappeared, and Raven looked over to her friends and fallen brother, worry written all over her face.

By morning, the Sprites had Dirk laying in respectful repose gripping his sword, blade down, on a bed of greenery and flowers reclined against a tree, as befits a knight. Every face around was written in sadness. He snored softly.

"Do you think he'll snore for years and years and years and years?", Maddie asked tearfully.

"I can't bear to see Dirk like this!", Ashlynn said.

"He's not gone", Darling said. "He's just…..waiting for his happily ever after."

"But it's never happened like **this** before", Apple pointed out. "It's **always** been a Princess like us who's needed rescuing….. **never** a knight! All the rules are out the window!"

"So it could be hundreds of years before he wakes up!", Holly said.

"He may have been born the son of a villain, but he was a better hero than me", Arthur said. "I may be good, but we need more help."

"Where is Daring when we need him?", Poppy said.

"Yeah, where is Daring?", Darling pondered as she placed a white rose on Dirk's chest. Raven placed one there as well, then turned to Apple.

"You apologized to me", she said. "But I didn't get a chance to apologize to you. I brought all this evil to Ever After High. As soon as I realized I didn't want to play my part, I should've run far away! To a place where no one has even heard of the Evil Queen, or Snow White, or even fairytales at all!"

"I don't think there is such a place!", Maddie said. "Except maybe where monsters come from or something. But who ever heard of a 'monster high'?"

"Uh, hello!", Clawdeen growled.

"*ahem* Sorry", Maddie giggled sheepishly.

"Raven, you didn't turn the school into a dark fortress of evil", Darling told her.

"We understand, Raven", Ashlynn added. "We all know you don't want to follow your mom's story… and we support your choice."

"I should've given in to my mother from chapter one", Raven said, berating herself. "Maybe Dirk and I could've led her to a land far, far away….Maybe, maybe it's not too late…." Raven started to walk away.

"No! Don't do it, Raven", Darling said. "There has to be a better way! Giving in to your mom won't wake Dirk. And that's what you want, isn't it? To save your brother?"

"You don't know that, Darling!", Raven said. "My mother made that poison, so she might have an antidote!"

"Even if she does, if she uses it to wake him, it's possible his code of honor will force him to serve her ever after, isn't it?", Darling argued. "Even if her plan had worked, poisoning Apple, only the right kiss could set her free….Daring's."

Light suddenly flared from the hand mirror in Darling's purse.

"Free Daring", Mirrie said, and Daring appeared, looking very disheveled.

"Daring!", Apple exclaimed. "That's where you've been!"

"Don't look at me!", he cried. "I'm hideous! I was trapped in there without a hair-brush!"

"The mirror!", Raven realized. "That's it! The way to capture my mother!"

Everyone gasped happily.

"Somebody should have told the Evil Queen that breaking a mirror brings bad luck!", Darling smirked.

 _(BP) And so Raven and her friends, set out to battle the biggest drama queen ever after. Will they be able to take back the school? Will Clawdeen find a way to free Duncan?_

 _(TP) And will they find a way to wake Dirk? Since someone other than a princess is in distress, all the normal fairytale rules are up in the air!_

 _(BP) Ah! So much pressure! At least they don't have to study for hexams, too!_

 _(TP) I for one can't wait to see what happens next chapter, Sis!_

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Just one little twisted whim of Fate, and fairytale convention gets turned on it's head! How do you think the Evil Queen will react when she finds out? I wouldn't want to be Fayebelle when that happens! LOL!**

 **I know, I know: "Why didn't Darling just kiss him?" Well, because she's still not sure how she feels about Dirk or how he really feels about her. For all she knows, what they have is just a teenage flirtation. Plus, as stated; it has** ** _never_** **been the hero or knight in that situation, so no one really knows what to do! For all they know, the classic solution won't work!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	70. Chapter 69: Battle the Evil Queen

**_Hey, Everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long, but as you'll see, this is a really long chapter! Things are coming to a head in Ever After this chapter! The song, "Evil, Like Me", is from Disney's "Descendants". I just thought it was perfect(with minor tweaks) for the situation. Plus, probably the longest and most complex battle I've written yet! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 69: Battle the Evil Queen

 _(MN) Things were looking grim for the students of Ever After High._

 _(BP) The Evil Queen had taken over the school and given it one wicked makeover, not the least of which was blasting one of the walls of her new chambers away; effectively turning that whole side of the tower room into a huge balcony!_

 _(FN) And the darkest chapter of Dirk Knight's story was being written. A cursed apple from his mother, the Evil Queen; intended for Apple White, had poisoned him into forever after sleep._

 _(TP) And Daring Charming had just popped out of the Booking Glass. Arthur and the girls filled him in on the situation while he fixed his face and hair._

"Well, Dirk and I never saw eye-to-eye, but I'll do what I can to help", he said, surprising them all. "Yes, I want to beat him, but not like this. I want him to see my handsome face when I win. In the meantime, I know it's been quite some time since you've seen **this** face and you must all be going through withdrawal, but take caution! Too much handsome at once can be a shock to the system. Sips, not gulps, people!"

"Hey, guys!", Dexter called as he came into the grove with many other students, led by the sprites.

"Hunter!", Ashlynn happily called, running into his arms. Sparrow Hood, Cupid, Rosabella, Briar, Blondie, and many others were with them. "How did you…?"

"It was Jillian's beanstalk", Hunter told her.

"Some of us were able to sneak away from school, while Fayebelle was out with the dragons", Jillian smiled, alongside Nina Thumbel, Farrah Goodfairy, and Justine Dancer.

"Wow! Daring let you borrow **his** mirror?", Dexter said to Raven, surprised. "That's a first!"

"This is no ordinary mirror, it's the Booking Glass", she told him. "We can use it to send my mother back to the mirror realm. How did we make this thing work before?"

"I don't know", Darling said. "It just started talking and then Daring popped out."

"Hellooooo, mirror-lady? Start doing mirror stuff!", Maddie said, taking the Booking Glass and tapping on it….until it zapped her.

"Pass-code incorrect", Mirrie said, and Raven took it back from the stunned and slightly twitching Maddie.

"We don't have a pass-code!", Holly lamented. "Raven, can't you do something?"

"Yeah! Unlock it with magick", Poppy suggested enthusiastically, but Raven shook her head.

"In 'History of Evil Spells', Baba yaga said the Boking Glass is shielded by dark fairy magick", she said. "I-I can't crack it."

"We have to send the Evil Queen back where she belongs for poisoning Dirk", Ashlynn said with determination.

"Wait! Dirk has been poisoned?", Nina asked, shocked.

"Yes, it was meant for me", Apple said sadly.

"It's true. Forever after sleep", Raven confirmed.

Daring was pacing back and forth, at a loss for what to do with himself. Instead of his princess being cursed, it was his arch-rival!

"It's wrong", he said repeatedly. "It's all **wrong**. How did this happen? The story goes: **Apple** gets poisoned to ever after sleep, and **I** wake her with a kiss! But **_this?!_** I-I-I've **lost** my destiny!"

"Come on, drama-prince", Apple told him gently. "Let's try to figure out what to do."

xxXXxx

Fayebelle fluttered into the Evil Queen's tower feeling extremely nervous. Brutus Ogre and Hadrian Hook were with the queen. Crouching obediently nearby was the savage, mindless Duncan. The Evil Queen was asking the clueless boys which nail-polish color provided a greater 'fear me' vibe as she changed them several times with a wave of her hand. Fayebelle gulped, but she had put this off for too long already.

"Um, your evil-ness? First let me say that I **did** find them in the Enchanted Forest, and I **did** plant the poisoned apple like you told me", she said.

"Hex-cellent", the Evil Queen said with a grim smile. "I'm impressed my little blackbird was able to repell the dark dragons and my pet, though. Still, so long as Apple has fallen into forever after sleep."

Duncan growled softly.

"But, Apple...wasn't the one who bit the poison apple."

"Here it comes!", Hook snickered to Brutus.

"Then who did, Fayebelle?"

"W-well, he traded with Apple at the last second, so it's **not** my fault…", she said in a rush.

"Just tell me who was poisoned before I turn you into a gypsy-moth!", the Queen snapped.

"Dirk! It was Dirk!", Fayebelle blurted fearfully.

 ** _"WHAT?!"_** , the Evil Queen roared. She stood, her eyes and staff blazing with dark magick. Fayebelle fell to her knees, trembling. Then the Evil Queen paused in thought. "Hmmmmm…. This **could** work to my advantage."

"H-how is that, your horrible-ness?", Fayebelle asked, thankful for the reprieve.

"Raven loves and is very loyal to her brother", she grinned. "Sooner or later, she **will** come to me for an antidote, which I will happily provide when she joins me. And once he awakens, Dirk will join me as well, even if only out of loyalty to his sister or his code of honor. *evil chuckle* What do **you** think of this color?"

"You look spelltacular", she said in relief, seeing the purple-magenta shade of her nails.

xxXXxx

The escaped students of Ever After High and the sprites and pixies of the Enchanted Forest were gathered around the sleeping form of Dirk Knight. His sister Raven stood beside him, facing their friends. A somber mood of sadness and defeat hung in the air.

"We're here today to honor a spellebrate Dirk Knight", Raven began. "He was a Rebel. He was our friend. And he was my brother. He was kind, he was brave, he was loving, and he deserved his happily ever after."

There was not a dry eye among the gathered friends. Maddie took a hanky out of her small purse to wipe her tears, and handed her purse to Briar so she could do the same. Briar was surprised when she pulled out several hankies tied together as if for a magic trick.

"I wish I was as powerful as my mother", Raven continued. "That I had the kind of magick that could take me back to when all of this started. If I could go back, I'd tell **you** , Apple, that you have a choice. We **all** do. We all have the power to choose our own stories. And if your choice is to follow your pre-determined destiny, you have to trust that it will happen in its own time. And you **don't** have to make a deal with **evil**."

Raven then looked in the Booking Glass, as if realizing what she'd just said, and got an idea.

"Make a deal with evil…", she said to herself. "I-I have to go."

She headed over to Nevermore, rushing through the group of her confused friends. As she prepared to mount, Darling came up to her.

"Where are you going?", the Charming girl asked.

"To make sure the rest of you don't end up like my brother", she said.

"You're going to see your mother, aren't you?", Darling concluded. "Raven, you can't!"

"It's the **only** way", Raven told her. "I know what I'm doing. Here, you're gonna need this."

"The Booking Glass?", Darling asked, confused, as Raven handed it to her before mounting. "But-but we don't know how to…."

"Trust me", Raven told her. "Somebody is about to have a change of heart. Let's go, Nevermore!"

Darling watched Raven take off and fly toward the school.

"What are you up to, Raven Queen?", she asked herself.

xxXXxx

The Evil Queen rose from her throne with a wicked smile, as Raven came in to land on her huge 'balcony'.

"Hello, Raven", she said warmly, as if she had been expecting her daughter's arrival.

"We…need to talk", Raven said firmly as she dismounted. "I'll join you on three conditions, Mom."

"Name them", she grinned.

"First, you agree to cure and wake Dirk", Raven said. "I **won't** do this without him. Two, the three of us leave Ever After together in peace. We can conquer any place you want…..as long as we leave **this** kingdom alone. And third, you release Duncan from your control."

"Hmmmm…very well", the Evil Queen agreed. "I **do** want **both** my children by my side, and Ever After **has** lost it's appeal. However, I cannot free the boy as yet. He is **far** too powerful and could pose a problem. He will remain under my control until we leave. Fair enough, my darling?"

Raven nodded in relief, but still looked pensive. The Evil Queen picked up on her reluctance, and caressed her cheek.

"There-there, my dear, I understand", she told her. "You've been fighting your dark nature so long you don't know what to do….or how to begin. I can help you."

 _I was once like you, my child_

 _Slightly insecure._

 _Argued with my mother, too_

 _Thought I was mature._

 _But I put my heart aside_

 _And I used my head._

 _Now I think it's time you learned_

 _What dear old momma said._

 _Don't you wanna be evil, like me?_

 _Don't you wanna be mean?_

 _Don't you wanna make mischief_

 _Your daily routine?_

 _Well, you can spend you life_

 _Attending to the poor._

 _But when you're evil,_

 _Doing less_ _ **is**_ _doing more._

 _Don't you wanna be ruthless,_

 _And rotten, and mad?_

 _Don't you wanna be very, very good_

 _At being bad?_

 _I have tried my whole life long_

 _To do the worst I can._

 _Clawed my way to victory,_

 _Built my master plan._

 _Now the time has come, my dear,_

 _For you to take your place._

 _Promise me you'll try to be_

 _An absolute disgrace!_

 _Don't you wanna be evil, like me?_

 _Don't you wanna be cruel?_

 _Don't you wanna be nasty,_

 _And brutal, and cool?_

 _And when you use your wand_

 _That's when your reign begins!_

 _Who wants and evil queen_

 _Without a sack of sins?_

 _Don't you wanna be heartless_

 _And hardened as stone?_

 _Don't you wanna be finger-lickin' evil_

 _To the bone?_

 _This is not for us to ponder,_

 _This was preordained._

 _You and I shall rule together,_

 _Freedom now regained._

 _Mistress of the universe,_

 _Powerful and strong!_

 _Daughter, hear me, help me, join me,_

 _Won't you sing along?_

(together)

 _Now we're gonna be evil, it's true!_

 _Never gonna think twice!_

(Raven, still playing along)

 _And we're gonna be spiteful!_

(Evil Queen)

 _Yes, spiteful! That's nice!_

 _In just an hour or two,_

 _Our future's safe and sure._

 _This mother/daughter act_

 _Is going on a tour!_

 _If you wanna be evil, and awful, and free_

 _Then you can thank your lucky star,_

 _That you were born the girl you are,_

 _The daughter of an evil-icious queen,_

 _Like me!_

The Evil Queen laughed whole-heartedly.

"Hmmm. As wicked as your dragonriding gear is, my dear", the Evil Queen began, "for this occasion, you should wear something more….appropriate."

With a swirl of dark magick, her mother had changed her gear into a dark royal gown with long gloves, an inner collar of silver feathers surrounded by an outer collar of large black and purple feathers. Her hair now had two long braids on the sides as well as the bulk cascading down her back, and topped by a wicked, raven crown not too dis-similar from her mother's. Her entire new ensemble was trimmed with silver and purple gems.

"That's better", the Evil Queen grinned.

"Uh, thanks, Mom", Raven said.

xxXXxx

"Attention, subjects", the Evil Queen announced through the mirror-net on every screen and active mirror-pad in the realm. "Your attention please!"

Even the gathering of students in the Enchanted Forest saw her on their mirror-pads and mirror-phones.

"I just thought you'd be hex-cited to know that I'm leaving Ever After High **and** this kingdom, forever after. That's right! Your curse-ed little lives have all been spared. Because, well, let's just say that Mother's Day came early this year!"

She stepped slightly aside to reveal Raven. All the viewers gasped and began to murmur to each other.

"My daughter, Raven Queen, has agreed to join me. To become evil, and take over other lands with me! As soon as we collect and awaken her brother, my son, Dirk Knight, the three of us will be leaving forever after."

All the students were shocked as the announcement ended, and could not believe that Raven; who had so adamantly and publicly refused her destiny for so long, was turning evil?

Back in the Queen's tower chamber, Fayebelle was leaning against the shelves holding the possessed creatures. Raven was standing a short distance behind her mother, who was at a magickally conjured screen, gleefully weighing the options of which kingdoms to conquer; scrolling passed each as she considered.

"Let's see here…What land shall we take over first?", she asked out loud. "We could always take another crack at Wonderland. Or we could conquer and rule over Toyland. Oh! We could take over Neverland for a tropical winter-home kingdom! Or-or hear me out now….the land of the giants!"

"Those all sound great, Mom", Raven said, deadpan. "I'll go anywhere you want. As long as it's not **here** and we have Dirk with us."

"Ah! I'm too hex-cited to pick", she said giddily. "My wicked little blackbird has flown home, soon to be joined by my vicious little warrior! Mother-daughter evil selfie!"

The Evil Queen practically giggled as she magickally pulled Raven in close for a selfie.

"Oh my fairy-godmother!", Fayebelle exclaimed, sickened by the display. "I've spent all this time fluttering around doing you evil bidding without so much as a 'hey, thanks, Fayebelle. Hex of a job'. And now little miss(mocking voice) "I'm gonna choose my own destiny" comes waltzing in and you **actually** believe she's going to be evil?!"

"Will you excuse us for a moment, my dear?", the Evil Queen said to Raven. She walked over to Fayebelle and raised a dome of magick up around them.

" **That** is my **_daughter_** you're talking about!", she hissed. "And need I remind you that it was Apple White you were supposed to poison, **not** **my** **son?!** "

"That wasn't my fault! They traded at the last second!", Fayebelle countered. "Besides, you said it worked to your advantage anyway!"

Outside the dome, Raven watched their muffled argument. This was **exactly** what she'd hoped for!

"Whatever after", Fayebelle said finally. "I'm telling you, she's up to something. You don't honestly think she's 'evil' now, do you?"

"She's going to be just like me because I gave her no choice!", the Evil Queen roared, her voice starting to distort with anger and power. "All of my plotting and planning has finally gotten me what I want! Don't you understand? **_I won!_** _"_

"All of this was about Raven?", Fayebelle asked, deflating with pain and disappointment. "But what about **me**?", she asked as her 'mentor' walked away, lowering the dome.

"What **about** you?", the Evil Queen laughed as she walked back to Raven and the screen. "Raven and Dirk were **always** my priority, my ultimate goal. Now, where were we? Ooh! What about Oz? That ridiculous little wizard wouldn't stand a chance!"

Behind them, Fayebelle was in tears. She wiped them away as her anger overshadowed her pain and disappointment. She tore off the purse of magick the Evil Queen had given her and flew away.

xxXXxx

Back in the Enchanted Forest, the mood overall was a mixture of shock and confusion. Melody Piper played a sad song on her mirror-pad that seemed to echo with the nearby Daring Charming.

"Oh, yes. This is what feelings sound like", he said despondently. Darling grabbed pulled him a short distance away from Melody. "Hey! What the hex? Can't you see I'm trying to wallow?"

"All this pouting….and not a good look on you by the way", she told him firmly. "It's time to turn the page, big brother."

"Oh, that's easy for **_you_** to say, Sis!", he said, irritated. "Don't you understand? I just lost my destiny! I'm not Apple's prince charming!"

"And **_I'm_** not a damsel in distress!", Darling said heatedly. "Some of us aren't going to follow our original destinies."

"Raven did!", he shot back. "Nobody ever thought **she** would, but look what happened."

"Raven did whatever she had to, to save her friends", Darling reminded him after face-palming. "She had a choice to make. And so do you: either sit here and cry like spoiled child, or step up and do whatever it takes to help, like a **real** hero."

"I was so sure I was Apple's prince; that I would wake her from her poisoned sleep", he said. "But if she isn't even the one cursed, I just don't know what I can do."

"Dirk!", Briar gasped, drawing the attention of everyone. "Dirk, wake up!"

He was gasping for breath, then his eyes fluttered open just long enough for them all to see them roll back in his head, and he stopped breathing. Darling rushed to his side, her heart sinking. She pressed her ear to his chest. He wasn't breathing, and his heart was slowing. She gasped with fear. Her emotions were on overload! She couldn't bear the thought of losing him, of never seeing him or his crooked smile ever again.

"Breath, Dirk!", she cried, shaking him. "Please don't leave me! I-I LOVE YOU!"

With that declaration, she pressed her lips to his, trying to breath life into him. A golden light shown from where their lips met. He opened his eyes and coughed, breaking the kiss. As he coughed a small plume of dark magick exited his mouth….the curse of the poison. The gathered friends all made exclaimations of relief.

"Dirk is back!"

"Darling did it!"

"Dirk is awake!"

"Ha-ha-ha! Yay! Yay! Yay!"

"All right, Dirk! AWOOOWOOOOOO!", Clawdeen howled. "Welcome back!"

"Whoa, what happened?", he asked dazedly. "Hold on! Who woke me?"

"It was Darling, roomie", Arthur grinned, and winked. Dirk blushed as he looked at the blushing platinum blonde.

"So I guess I'm not the only one who feels this way, huh?", he said sheepishly.

"I guess not", she replied. Then he looked around.

"Wait. Where's my sister?", he asked. Everyone looked uncomfortable and shifted their feet nervously.

"Well, Dirk", Darling started, "it's like this…." And she told him everything they knew.

" **UN-HEX-CEPTABLE!** ", he roared angrily, getting to his feet. "My mom **cannot** be allowed to win like this! No doubt she thinks I would join her too, after she woke me with her antidote. I **might** have, too….if not for true love's kiss(he winked at Darling). We have to **do** something!"

"I'm sorry, Dirk", Ashlynn said. "But I think we're to late."

"No! Dirk is right!", Apple said. "We **have** to stop her! This is all my fault. I set the Evil Queen free. I thought keeping her secret was going to be good for Ever After High. Good for all of us. But look at all the trouble it led to. And Raven joining sides with her mother? That's not the happily ever after she wanted. Please. Help me fight back, help me save Raven! We have dragons! We have the Booking Glass. We just need the pass-code."

"We've tried, Apple", Darling reminded her. "You have, too. But it's not like we can **guess** the combination. Daring just got lucky when he got captured."

"Lucky? I-I wouldn't put it that way", he smiled nervously while he shuddered at the memory.

"I would!", a new voice called from above. Claween snarled, baring her fangs and claws while the others gasped when they saw Fayebelle come in for a landing astride Legend. Everyone took a step back, wondering why the dark fairy was there.

"Let me guess: don't know how to unlock the Booking Glass?", she asked sarcastically as she dismounted. Grabbing the mirror from Darling, Fayebelle fluttered into the air and went into cheerleader mode.

"One! Two! Three! Four! That Booking Glass is locked no more!", she cheered, and a magickal aura glinted around it for a moment. "What shall I capture? Hmmm. How about…..a sandwich!"

The mirror pulled in a sandwich that Sparrow was about to bite. "Hey!"

Fayebelle then tossed the Booking Glass to Apple.

"I don't understand", Darling asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, why are you suddenly switchin' sides?", Clawdeen growled.

"This dark fairy is just out for revenge", she replied with an edge in her voice. "I worked my wings off for that ungrateful queen. Let's how well her wicked plans go without Fayebelle in her corner!"

Everyone looked at each other with a sense of hope for the first time leaving the school!

"Hunter? Sparrow? Did your guys bring your bows?", Dirk asked.

"Sure", Hunter said.

"Hex, yeah-yeah-yeah!", Sparrow sang, strumming his electric guitar.

"Good! Take your quivers over to the ice dragons, including Shadow-Wing", he told them. "Have them turn your arrowheads to ice! That way, you guys can freeze your targets!"

"That idea really rocks, yeah!", Sparrow sang, as he and Hunter did as he said.

"What are we waiting for, people?", Darling said.

"Dragon up!", Apple cheered. All those with dragons took one or two others with them. Daring took charge of Legend with Dexter, Hunter, and Sparrow. The two archers sat back to back so as to guard the rear and flanks with their arrows.

"Someone is going to have a change of heart", Darling said. "That's what Raven told me before she left."

"What does that mean?", Apple asked.

"It means that she knew Fayebelle was going to get angry with the Evil Queen, and switch sides", Ashlynn deduced.

"This was part of her plan all along", Maddie added with a giggle. "She's **playing** her mother!"

"And she **knows** we're coming with the Booking Glass", Apple grinned.

"I'll ride with you again, Sis", Arthur told Apple. "With the Shield of Virtue on my back, I can protect you."

"And I'm ridin' with you, Darling", Clawdeen said. "If that royal pain sends out Duncan, get me as close as you can and I'll handle him…..I hope."

"OK! Let's go save Raven!", Dirk called, as he mounted and Fayebelle climbed up behind him. "Darling? Apple? We three will take point. Daring? Fly Legend at the center of our formation so you guys can help anyone who needs it!"

As they all took off and flew away, those that remained behind sent cheers of encouragement and luck.

xxXXxx

"…And we'll need some dragon tears, a little dark fairy dust", the Evil Queen was naming off items as she packed her belongings. "My dark robe, oh! And my other dark robe. Almost finished packing! Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what, Mom?", Raven asked innocently from the balcony, a small Nevermore by her side.

"Staring ominously into the distance", the Queen said, getting suspicious. "What are you looking for?"

"Nothing! I'm just….looking forward to Dirk joining us, and hex-cited….about being evil", Raven stammered. "And conquering the world…and stuff."

"Hmmmm…..Prove it", Her mother said, as she used her dark magick to open and hold a small portal near the shelves holding the containers of possessed creatures and looked expectantly at her daughter. "You're on the path to become **evil** now, dear. Toss Snow White and those teachers into the **void!** "

Raven steeled herself and walked over to the shelves.

"Raven, pleasssssse!", begged snake Snow White. "Help ussssssss!"

Raven Queen placed a hand on the tank containing Snow White…and hurled a bolt of magick at her mother! The Evil Queen blocked it easily with a chuckle, but she had to release the portal; closing it.

"Nice try, birdy. But I'm **much** more powerful than you!", she said with an evil chuckle, sending a far stronger bolt back. It exploded at Raven's feet, knocking her down. Then her mother conjured the same magickal binding cylinder around Raven she'd had around Snow White before. Raven was trapped!

"I know you're just doing all this to save your little friends out there", the Evil Queen laughed.

Nevermore roared, growing to full size to defend Raven. The Evil Queen simply conjured restraints that bound and pulled her aside.

"Nevermore!", Raven cried in concern.

"You may not be evil now, Raven Queen", her mother said, her voice distorted with dark power. "But mark my words— **you will** ** _learn!_** _"_

Just then, there were dragon roars in the distance, drawing the surprised attention of both of them. As they watched, a squadron of dragons burst through the clouds that had hidden their approach, with Dirk front and center in the lead astride Shadow-Wing.

"Dirk! Dirk's awake!", Raven exclaimed happily.

"Yes, and it seems someone has shown Apple how to use the Booking Glass", the Evil Queen noted. She could only assume that Darling had awakened her son with True Love's Kiss. Then she saw Fayebelle riding with Dirk. "Raven! **You** were behind this! You played on Fayebelle's jealousies and tricked her into joining your friends! You **manipulative** chip off the old glass slipper!"

The Evil Queen changed into her dragonriding gear with a wave of her hand.

"It takes a **truly** wicked mind to concoct a scheme like that! Oh, you have so much potential!", she said proudly. "It's too bad I have to go destroy your friends now. But don't worry, I'll spare Dirk so he can join us." Then she turned to the crouching Duncan. "Stay here and guard her. Do **not** let her escape and destroy **_anyone_** who approaches!"

He growled in savage acceptance of his orders. Then the Evil Queen leapt off the balcony to land astride a dark dragon that had been waiting. The rest flew out alongside her to take on the heroes.

"All right, everyone, listen up!", Dirk called out. "Apple has to get as close to my mother as she can! Let's cover her back and make sure she gets there!"

"Darling, Duncan isn't with her!", Clawdeen pointed out. "I see him! That bitch left him to guard Raven! Get me as close to the school as you can so I can get inside and I'll free both of them!"

"I'll try!", the Charming girl said.

The two sides closed with each other, and began to exchange blasts of fire, ice, and magick.

Raven watched the battle begin from inside her prison, and concern for her brother and friends was overwhelming.

"No! I have to help them! I have to help my friends and defeat my mother!", she said to herself. But every time she touched the magick holding her, it shocked her painfully.

"Raven, please help us", lizard Giles said, as she surged her own magick against that which held her.

"She can't do it", frog Milton said defeatedly. "She doesn't have the strength. And even if she did break out, Duncan would stop her!"

Raven threw everything she had at the shield around her. It surged, sparked…..and held. She was just short of what was needed to break it.

Outside, the dragonriders and those with them had their hands full. Already, Apple would have been blasted twice in the back already if not for her brother and his shield. Two dark dragons had taken ice-blasts to the face, and others had been surprised by ice-arrows from the archers riding Legend. Ashlynn had the reins of Maddie's dragon, Cottoncandy, when they both saw a dark dragon gaining on them with fire-blasts.

"Maddie, use the fire-extinguisher!", Ashlynn told her. The Hatter took the extinguisher and threw it at their pursuer with a giggle, clocking him right in the head. He spiraled downward in a daze. "Not what I had in mind, but it works!"

The Evil Queen was easily blocking multiple attacks with her magick, while at the same time hurling bolts of magick at them. She was grinning as if this were the greatest dragongame of her life! Apple tried to zero-in on her with the Booking Glass's targeting system, but she was too fast and agile in the air.

Darling circled the school at high speed, pursuing a dark dragon.

"Clawdeen! The beanstalk! Go…..now!", Darling told her passenger.

"I'm gone!", the werewolf said, leaping from the saddle onto to beanstalk. Her claws enabled her to easily climb to a nearby opening into the school. Now she made her way up. She was stopped about half-way to her destination by Brutus Ogre and Hadrian Hook. They were blocking the door to the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going, pretty doggie?", Brutus grinned.

"Now, now, show some respect, mate", Hook told him. "The lady is a wolf. And from what I hear, she's an Alpha."

"I don't care if she's an alphabet! She ain't getting' passed us!", the ogre grunted, punching his fist into his hand.

"Get outta my way, guys", she growled. "The **last** thing you wanna do is get between an Alpha and her mate!"

"We got ya outnumbered, love", Hook sneered.

"Look again!", Ramona Badwolf said as she stepped up beside Clawdeen, followed by her father; Professor Badwolf! Both boys paled, and Hook sheathed his sword.

"We'll keep an eye on these two, Miss Wolf", the professor growled. "You keep going to your mate."

"Thanks, you two", Clawdeen said, dashing up the stairs after the boys stepped aside. She reached the top of the tower….and a locked door. She let her primal instincts take over, her rage giving her a surge of strength; and she smashed through the door! She saw the imprisoned Raven.

"Raven! Where is…..?"

"Clawdeen, look out!", Raven screamed, as Duncan tackled Clawdeen savagely. After tumbling a bit, he hurled her against a wall and shot a fire-ball at her, which she barely dodged!

Clawdeen squared off with her mate, who was snarling and growling like a mindless beast, his eyes blazing with dark magick.

"Duncan! It's me! Clawdeen! You gotta snap out of it!"

His only response was to snarl again, and swipe at her with his claws.

"Please, Duncan! This **isn't** you! You're **better** than this!"

He rushed forward and pinned her against the wall, still growling.

"You are Duncan Rosenblatt! Prince of the Kaijus! And **I LOVE YOU** , you magnificent idiot!"

He seemed to hesitate, and his growling stopped. He looked as if he **almost** recognized her. She seized the moment, and kissed him full on the lips. He stiffened, then melted into the kiss, his arms starting to embrace her, a golden light surrounding them. When they broke the kiss, the dark magick vanished from his eyes.

"Welcome back, Hot-Stuff", Clawdeen smiled in relief.

"Oh my goddess, Clawdeen! I'm so sorry!", he said, almost crying. "I knew what I was doing but I couldn't stop myself! I was a **fool** to face her alone….she turned me into what I feared I would become most!"

"It's ok, Handsome", she said compassionately. "I know you weren't in control."

"Um, that's great, you guys", Raven said. "But do you think you can help me get outta here, Duncan?"

"No problem", he said. Then he blasted the shield with a stream of fire, while she again hit it with all her power. The shield collapsed, freeing Raven!

"Thanks", she said as she conjured herself into her dragonriding gear while Duncan and Clawdeen broke Nevermore's restraints.

"Clawdeen, wait here and help the students as best you can", he told her, before kissing her. When they broke the kiss, he had a hard look in his eyes. "I've got a score to settle."

"We **both** have scores to settle", Raven said, mounting Nevermore.

"Go get 'er, you two!", Clawdeen cheered as they took off.

xxXXxx

"Blondie Lockes here", she announced on the mirror-net, holding a metal pot on her head as a make-shift helmet, while riding as a passenger with Poppy O'Hair. "Reporting from the front lines of the most spell-binding dragon battle ever after! Apple White is leading a team of students in a royal campaign to stop the Evil Queen and send her back to the mirror realm! More to come as the pages continue to turn on this amazing story!"

While their friends kept the dark dragons busy, the White twins pursued the Evil Queen, Apple keeping the Booking Glass at the ready. The Evil Queen led them on an ascending, spiral chase around the highest tower; the very top of which was once her 'visiting room'. Apple lost sight of her just before the final turn. She suddenly emerged from a cloud heading directly for them! Apple took aim.

"Capture the Evil….NO!", she cried as the Evil Queen managed to snatch the Booking Glass away from her with an evil laugh!

The laughing Evil Queen faced them, both dragons hovering about twenty yards apart.

"Now I'm going to let your friends know what it's like to spend a hundred years in the mirror realm", She laughed. "Starting with the two of **you!** Capture the White twi…..!"

A small, focused bolt of magick knocked the mirror from her grasp, and a red-orange blur streaked downward to catch it! She looked back to see Raven closing in on her, her hand still glowing with magick.

"Someone's been practicing!", the Evil Queen said proudly, as Raven took position beside Apple and Arthur. Duncan ascended back up to them and tossed the Booking Glass to Apple. Then Dirk pulled up alongside them.

"Well, isn't this a fun little reunion", the queen sneered.

"It's over, Mom", Raven said.

"We're taking back the school!", Dirk added.

"You might want to think about what you're doing, Apple", she smirked. "You're throwing away your destiny!"

"Don't listen to her, Apple!", Raven told her.

"Without me, you'll never get your happily ever after. Raven has made it **abundantly** clear that she doesn't intend to follow in my footsteps. Face it! You **don't** have a choice!"

"Yes, I do!", Apple said with firm confidence. "We **all** have a choice. And I'll find my happily ever after some other way…without you!(she aims the mirror) Capture the Evil Queen!"

A magickal beam of light shot from the Booking Glass toward the Evil Queen, who hastily erected a magickal shield, holding the beam at bay.

"Nooo!", she screamed, and started to push back with her dark magic! "I'm-Not-Going-Back! (evil chuckle) I told you! I'm more **powerful** than you!"

"Apple!", Raven cried.

"She's weakening the Booking Glass!", Apple cried. Dirk drew his sword.

"Arthur, catch!", he yelled as he tossed the Ebony Blade to his friend. "Use it to reinforce the mirror!"

Arthur nodded as he reached around his sister. He and she carefully shifted her grip so that both of them were holding the sword against the mirror. The mirror was safe from breaking, but the magick was still losing ground slowly against the Evil Queen's dark power. Raven's magick surged, as she jumped from Nevermore onto Ivory's back, behind Arthur. She placed her hands on his shoulders and sent her power through the three of them to give it to the mirror. The clash of magicks was at a stalemate just as few feet away from the mirror.

"Sooner or later the three of you will weaken!", the queen laughed evilly.

" **HEY, QUEENY! REMEMBER** ** _ME_** **?!** ". Duncan roared.

The Evil Queen turned and saw him behind her just in time to block his powerful stream of fire with another shield; effectively splitting her power and concentration! Raven surged her power to the limit, and the Booking Glass overcame her mother!

"NNNnnnnoooooo!", the Evil Queen screamed as she was pulled inside the mirror realm! The excess power exploded, knocking the White twins and Raven off of Ivory. Nevermore swooped in and caught Raven and Arthur, while Daring caught Apple in his arms on Legend.

The Booking Glass continued to fall with it's prisoner screaming angrily. It shattered on the ground, releasing waves of magick that reversed all the dark magick she had used on the school. Ever After High returned to it's rightful place and all the damage was undone; it was as if nothing had happened. Snow White and the school staff were also restored to their true selves. Even the dark dragons became more docile once the Evil Queen's hold on them was broken.

"I'm back!", Snow White exclaimed happily. "It worked!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: *whew!* This was a long chapter! But there was really no way to break it up into two chapters and have it flow right, soooo….I hope you all enjoyed it! And** ** _two_** **curses broken by kisses of True Love? Come on, who doesn't love that?!**

 **Next chapter will conclude the EAH arc and see Duncan & Clawdeen return home….Finally! There will be heartfelt good-byes and a special surprise for die-hard EAH fans!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are welcome as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	71. Chapter 70

**_Hey, Everyone! This chapter will conclude the Ever After arc and return Duncan and Clawdeen home! I do not own Firebreather, Monster High, nor Ever After High. I only own my OC's. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 70

 _(FN) With the help of her friends, Apple White was able to right the wrong of freeing the Evil Queen._

 _(MN) And with the school and faculty returned to normal, life at Ever After High was likewise returning to normal._

Snow White descended the entry steps of the school toward the front courtyard, looking for her children. She finally saw them conversing with Raven, Dirk, Darling, Duncan, and Clawdeen. When they also saw her, she smiled warmly and opened her arms. The twins ran into the loving embrace of their mother. After a few moments, Snow White looked at Raven. With a smile, nod, and gesture, she invited Raven to join them.

"Go for it, Sis", Dirk smiled. "I think that's an invitation to a fresh start with your boyfriend's mom."

Raven smiled as she walked over. She gave Arthur a peck on the cheek before joining the hug.

The others all smiled. Raven deserved this; the first step to her happily ever after. Darling took Dirk's arm with a warm smile as her brothers arrived. Dexter gently elbowed Daring.

"*ahem* I suppose I …..misjudged you…..a little….when you arrived, Dirk", Daring said. "I guess I felt….threatened by you, especially after you broke all my records. It's….not easy to admit when someone else is a b-better hero than ones-self. And you **are** ….b-better than me. And if you and my sister really love each other then….I'll do what I can to help when it comes to our parents."

"I'm impressed, Daring", Dirk said honestly. "It takes guts to make an admission like that. I'll admit that I had a major chip on my shoulder when I got here. But if you can swallow your pride like that, then I guess you're not as bad as I thought you were. And you did help out a lot when it really counted in that battle. Tell you what, Daring: you give me some grooming tips and I'll keep you on your toes in training; and just maybe we can help each other become more worthy of our princesses?"

"Ha-hah! Deal!", Daring laughed warmly, shaking Dirk Knight's hand.

"Duncan! Clawdeen! There you two are", Baba Yaga called from their right. They turned and saw the old witch floating toward them.

"Yes, Madame Yaga?", Duncan said.

"The spells I cast to repair the mirror have done their work", she told them. "It is completely repaired and the imprint from your world is intact. I just finished speaking to Boodika Le Fey via crystal ball, and the repairs to her mirror are nearly complete. The two of you should be able to return home in two days."

"That is clawesome news!", Clawdeen said, hugging Duncan, then the teacher.

"Thank you for telling us", Duncan smiled. "And thanks for all your help."

"Nonsense, my dears!", Madame Yaga smiled. "You two helped to save us **all** from the Evil Queen! I believe Fate brought you both here just in time to help us."

xxXXxx

 _(TP) Word spread quickly that Duncan and Clawdeen were leaving. Briar was already planning a wild farewell party for them._

 _(BP) As for Raven, Dirk, and their mother? Let's just say their relationship is still…..Heh, heh. Complicated._

Raven and Dirk entered Milton Grimm's office. Ironically, the day after defeating their mother was visiting day. Giles smiled at them as they crossed to Milton's desk to sign the waiver.

"Miss Queen, Mr. Knight, need I remind you, do **not** touch the glass", Milton said.

"Oh please", Raven smiled. Her brother smirked as Milton opened the hidden door. When they reached the top of the tower, purple smoke swirled in the brand-new glass in the familiar standing mirror. Their mother appeared in moments.

"There's my little blackbird and warrior", she smiled warmly to her children.

"Mom", they both said.

"So, what's new?", she asked them.

"How are you…um..", Raven began.

"…Holding up in there?", Dirk finished. Even after everything, they both still loved their mother and were concerned for her well-being.

"Oh, it's not so bad, I suppose", she said, then brightened a little. "Somebody left a **sandwich** in here. I'm….. **royally** proud of you both", she smiled warmly, honestly expressing her pride.

"Seriously?", Raven asked.

"After all that?", Dirk added, equally amazed.

"Raven, you demonstrated that your powers are even **stronger** than before", the Evil Queen said proudly. "And to orchestrate such a crafty scheme to take down the Evil Queen? Me! **The** Evil Queen! And Dirk, not only so loyal to your sister, but to pick up on her plan and execute it on the fly after she left? Brilliant! You're both more like me than you realize. Like it or not, you can't escape your destiny."

"We'll see", Raven smirked.

At that moment, down in Milton Grimm's office, the Storybook of Legends began to glow brightly in it's protective case. To the amazement of the brothers, it suddenly opened and the pages flipped rapidly. Just as suddenly, it stopped; the last page with writing turned to reveal a blank page. And for the first time in ages, the book did what it was **meant** to do; words began to appear and scroll across the page.

 ** _O_** _nce upon a time, there lived a young princess. Her skin was as pale as milk, her hair was as dark as a raven's feathers, and her eyes were as purple as amethysts. But this girl was no ordinary child. This girl was special. She could do magick…._

The Brothers Grimm watched in shocked silence as the magick of the book sparkled and new magick poured from it's pages as it recorded the first new story in hundreds of years.

"Wha-what does this mean, Giles?", Milton asked.

"It means that what I have suspected for a very long time is true, dear brother.", he smiled. "The Storybook of Legends does far more than preserve the stories of the past….it records new stories as they happen. It means that our students **do** have a choice, and it does **not** risk our existence if they choose their own stories. In fact, it seems that new stories **strengthen** the magick of our world."

Back up in the tower….

"We have to go, Mom", Raven said.

"Yeah, we're late for a match", Dirk smiled.

"I'll be watching", the Evil Queen said as they left.

xxXXxx

Not long after, down in the dragon arena, new teams had been chosen; and they faced each other as they waited for the ball to launch. The new 'dark' team was captained by Raven Queen and was made up of Dirk, Maddie, Melodie, Arthur, and Lizzie. On the other side, Apple led Daring, Ashlyn, Darling, Holly, and Poppy. Duncan declined to play for either team as he and Clawdeen were leaving the following day. So he opted to sit beside his lady-love and watch the game. Beside Snow White in the royal stands—and guarded by security dwarves—was the Evil Queen's standing mirror; so she could watch and cheer her children….wearing a big foam finger with the words: "Long Live Evil!" printed on it.

"Hey, what took you so long?", Apple cheerfully asked the late-arriving Raven and Dirk. "Let's do this!"

"Ready when you are!", Raven smiled competitively. The Gingerbread referee blew his whistle and the ball lauched. Raven managed to catch it first.

"That's my girl!", the Evil Queen cheered proudly. "That's it, Dirk! Keep positioned for a pass!"

xxXXxx

"I gotta say, Briar", Clawdeen said to the daughter of Sleeping Beauty, "you know how to throw one **_fangtastic_** party!"

"Thanks, Clawdeen", she said. "It's the least I can do for everything you and Duncan have done for us. Besides, I gotta get the parties in now, before I, you know…..sleep for a hundred years."

Clawdeen felt for the girl. The werewolf didn't completely understand everything, but she understood enough to want to help Briar.

"Ya know", Clawdeen winked. "Back in my world, pretty much all of your stories have been turned into boovies at one time or another. Some of them multiple times. One of my favorites when I was little was a cartoon version of Sleeping Beauty where the princess met and fell in love with her prince **before** she fell asleep. And because he loved her so much and he wouldn't give up, he woke her with True Love's Kiss less than a week later."

"Really?", Briar asked, hope in her voice.

"Yup", Clawdeen smiled. "And I think I know a certain frog prince who would be more than happy to wake you when the time comes."

"Hopper?! He's sweet, but he's so…."

"Hey, give him time and give him a chance", she told her. "He may be awkward now, but most guys grow out of that."

"Well, he is sweet and cute", Briar said. "I'll think about it. Thanks, Clawdeen."

"One or two lumps?", Maddie gleefully asked Duncan after pouring his tea. He had gotten to know the Hatter well enough to know what was coming, so he was prepared. Sure enough, she was hiding a mallet behind her back.

"Just one, please", he grinned, going full kaiju. She laughed as she swung her mallet….until it broke to pieces on his head without so much as a flinch from him. "On second thought, how about lemon and honey instead?"

"You broke my mallet", Maddie blinked in amazement, then laughed like the mad hatter she is and gave him the requested lemon and honey and bounced away to serve more tea.

"You just made her day", Raven told him.

"I hope so, seeing as she can't pull that gag again for a while", he smiled.

"I wouldn't bet on that", Raven giggled. "She's got at least ten more mallets in her hat just for that gag."

"So did Snow White give you and Arthur her blessing?", Duncan asked her.

"She did", Raven brightened. "And, strangely enough, so has **my** mom. But it wouldn't surprise me if she's just hoping I'll corrupt him or something. She's apparently even cool with Dirk being with Darling, but it could be the same thing."

"*chuckle* She could be right in their case", he laughed, gesturing toward the couple, who were making out in the corner. "But it could also be because she knows it was Darling's kiss that saved him from the curse."

"Oh, they're gonna be together forever after", Cupid said as she came over on Dexter's arm. "I can feel it."

"Well, it's good to see you two so happy", Duncan smirked.

"We both want to thank you for knocking some sense into me, Duncan", Dexter said.

"I owe you and Clawdeen, big-time", Cupid said, kissing his cheek.

"No", he smiled. " **We** owed **you**. So we're even. Just be happy and keep helping other couples find the same happiness."

"Sorry to interrupt", Arthur said as he arrived, embracing and kissing Raven. "But I'd like to dance with my girlfriend and yours asked me to tell you to—and I quote—'get your hot bod over there right now'. So I would hurry if I were you. *chuckle*."

"Yeah, it's not wise to keep an Alpha waiting", Duncan laughed. "I'll catch you all later."

The party continued well into the evening, with Duncan and Clawdeen talking and having fun with all their new friends, knowing that they were going home the next day. Arrangements had been made for their actual send-off, with classes canceled and Blondie would be broadcasting the farewells on the mirror-net.

xxXXxx

After breakfast Duncan and Clawdeen went back to his dorm-room to finish packing. Duncan was packing his clothes on top of the Heart of Fire in an EAH gym bag. Clawdeen was packing her clothes and shoes in a wheeled travel bag that she'd gotten in Book End yesterday.

"Ready, Sweetie?", he asked as he looped the shoulder-strap of his bag across his chest.

"Yup", she replied. "Let's go say our good-byes."

They walked through the school together. Once they came out the entrance, they saw a sight not un-like the one they helped arrange for Cupid when she left Monster High, as the students and faculty were all gathered forming a long aisle leading to the magick mirror on the far side of the courtyard. There were cheers and applause as they stepped into the sunlight.

They fist-bumped and hugged their friends as they walked passed them. Clawdeen lingered a few moments with Ramona and Professor Badwolf. Then she crossed to the opposite side to hug Cerise.

"Good luck with your dream", she whispered to the daughter of Red Riding Hood. "And if you really have feelings for him, tell him the truth. He just might surprise you."

Cerise gasped a little, and blushed as she looked at Peter Trapper II. "I'll think about it", she said.

Then Clawdeen turned to Lizzie Hearts and hugged her tightly.

"It was a pleasure designing with you, Lizzie", she said. "Keep up the good work! You're voltageously talented. Look me up if you're ever in our world."

"Thank you, Clawdeen. I will", the heir to the throne of Wonderland said with genuine admiration.

As they neared the mirror, they saw the White Twins, the Grimm brothers, and Raven and Dirk there. They could also see their gathered friends and family watching on the other side of the mirror.

"Well, the two of you are leaving quite an impression on our world", Giles smiled warmly, shaking their hands.

"*ahem* Yes, I must admit that you both helped save us all, Prince Duncan, Alpha Clawdeen", Milton said, offering his hand as well.

"Indeed", said Queen Snow White as she stepped into view. "And such heroism is to be commended. So Duncan, Clawdeen, Dirk, and Raven; if you will all please take a knee?"

All four were surprised at this royal request as they kneeled before her. Snow White took a sword from her son and tapped each of them on their shoulders.

"By the power vested in me as Queen", She announced loud and proud, "I dub all of you Protectors of the Realm Forever After! And I award all four of you with the Medal of Valor!"

After handing the sword back to Arthur, she placed the medals around their necks.

"Please rise, brave Protectors!", she said, amid the cheers of the crowd.

"Thank you, Your Majesty", they all said.

Duncan and Clawdeen then said their good-byes to the two pairs of siblings, wishing them luck in their futures and relationships. Duncan lingered with Dirk.

"I tried to kill you when we first met", Dirk smirked.

"Yeah, you did", Duncan chuckled. "But then you became the first friend I made here. I might still be lost here if we hadn't met. I have something for you."

Duncan reached into the deep, inside pocket of his sleeveless biker jacket and pulled out what looked like two identical curved daggers.

"I flew back to where we killed that jabberwock, and made these from it's front teeth", he grinned. "One for you and one for me; so we'll always remember."

"Thanks, Duncan!", he said as he accepted the gift.

"The mirror is ready when you are, you two", Baba Yaga told them.

"Thanks, Madame Yaga", Duncan said, then turned to the crowd. "Thanks to all of you!"

"We'll never forget all the friends we've made here in Ever After!", Clawdeen added. "Good-bye, Everyone!"

With that, they stepped through the mirror.

xxXXxx

At Monster High, the whole school was gathered around the pool, as Manny had brought the mirror there. Closest to it were Boodika Le Fey and the Rosenblatt and Wolf families. As Duncan and Clawdeen emerged from the mirror, a great cheer went up from the crowd, and the families hugged their wayward children.

"Oh, Baby!", Margaret gushed, hugging Duncan. "I missed you! I was so worried!"

"Mom! I'm fine!"

"We missed you, too, Bro!", Kenny said, flanked by DJ and Joe. The guys all hugged and fist-bumped.

A similar scene played out with Clawdeen's family. Then their closest friends crowded in to greet them and bombard them with questions.

"Students….. **Students!** ", Grace Bloodgood called out, to calm the crowd. "I'm sure they will tell us all about their adventures. For now, let's let them return home with their families. You two and your siblings can take today and tomorrow to get settled; then return to classes the following day."

"Thanks, Headmistress", Duncan said.

"Spectra, come see us both tomorrow and we'll tell you everything", Clawdeen winked to the 'Ghostly Gossip'. "That way we only have to tell the whole story once."

"That would be spooktacular!", Spectra said.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Well this concludes the Ever After arc. I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know if you think I should eventually write an EAH story later to continue from here in that AU!**

 **My take on the true purpose of the Storybook of Legends was inspired by the stories of La spina fra i lilla and his/her works: "The Other Side of the Mirror" and it's sequel "Scarily Ever After", which crossed over MH and EAH.**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are welcome as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	72. Chapter 71

**_Hey, Everyone! A short chapter this time, as life starts settling back to normal for Duncan, and more story set-up for later. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 71

"So the firebreather and werewolf have returned, have they?"

"Yes, Uncle", Lilith said. "The whole school made a big deal about it. Did you read their story in the 'Ghostly Gossip'? Where they went, what they did…..it's incredible."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you sound as if you **admire** them, Lilith my dear", Van Hellscream said with a touch of disdain.

"N-no, Uncle Van! Of course not!", she stammered. "I just mean that their story is almost beyond belief. A world of magic and fairytales?"

"Well, as hard as it is to believe, that world **is** real", he said. "I have, on occasion, required magical items or ingredients that are rare enough as to attract attention here in our world….so I have a source in that world instead, where such things are far more plentiful and common-place."

He walked over to the shelves of his study. They were mostly filled with books, but many also contained jars and vials of rare and precious items and substances: wolfsbane, fairy-dust, dragon-teeth, basilisk scales, hydra venom, cockatrice feathers, even the gorgon powder he'd used on Headmistress Bloodgood that time; to say nothing of all the various Boogie-sands he now had. Marcus had out-done himself when he looted the Boogie-Man's own supply from the Boogie Mansion itself!

Just then, the computer on the desk beeped. Van Hellscream went over and sat to answer the video call.

"What is it, Ozborn?", he said to the renegade scientist.

"I just thought you'd like to know that the genetically modified Mogwai gremlins are ready", Ozborn grinned.

"Excellent!", Van Hellscream sneered. "And what animals did you splice them with, Doctor?"

"One is spliced with a vampire bat, giving it fully functioning wings. Another with a spider, giving it the 8-legged lower-body of a spider and the ability to spin webs. We made a similar hybrid with a scorpion. And my crowning achievement: the alpha of the batch was combined with a spitting king cobra! Plus we still have a dozen un-altered specimens ready for action."

"Will the hybrids still multiply when wet like the normal gremlins?"

"I believe so, sir", Ozborn grinned.

"Good! You have done well, Dr. Ozborn", Van Hellscream said. "How go the modifications and upgrades to our armor?"

"Proceeding on schedule", he replied. "My adaptive materials are replicating the properties of every material you've requested….even that strange 'anti-ghost' mineral your man acquired from Vlad Master's old labs."

"Excellent! Keep me informed. We will put phase 1 of my plans into action when everything is ready!", Van Hellscream said, the ended the video call.

"Those sound like really nasty creatures he's cooked up, Uncle Van", Lilith said. "Normal Mogwai gremlins are dangerous as it is. With those genetically modified ones? The mayhem will be catastrophic! When are you going to turn them loose on the monsters?"

"My dear Lilith! You're thinking too **small!** ", he snickered. "I'm not going to turn them loose on the monsters."

"You're not? But then what…?"

"Doing that would accomplish nothing", he told her. "Yes, it would cause an amusing amount of trouble for them, but in the long run? Just a temporary problem. You've seen the old films documenting the incidents of towns being over-run by just the run of the mill gremlins. Every one of those towns recovered within a year, two at the most. And the monsters would no doubt crush them more quickly than the human authorities could, so it would be a pointless exercise. But consider….if they rampaged through **our** side of town…..led by the modified hybrids…..?"

Lilith gasped! Such a thing would be a **_nightmare!_** The destruction and mayhem would be incalculable! To say nothing of all the innocent people who could be hurt or killed!

"And while the monsters get the blame for it all, my hunters and I will be lauded as heroes when we exterminate the infestation!", he gloated. "Then, phase 2 will convince any nay-sayers left. So when phase 3 begins, Monster high will close and all the monsters will have to leave our town….or die! It will be the beginning of the end for monsters all over the world!"

This was the first time Van Hellscream had given his niece even a glimps into the full scope of his plans, and she had to hide how appalled she was! She had balked at how he decided to delay action against Moanica D'Kay's zombie invasion, but **this** ….?!

"But, Uncle Van! You told me it would be impossible to destroy all the world's monsters", Lilith said. "You told me the best we could hope for was to keep reinforcing the division between us and them, and keep them fighting amongst themselves."

"Very true, my dear", he smirked. "However, my plans will do in a few weeks what would normally take **years!** And if we are successful enough, we might even convince our foolish human governments and militaries to finally take a stand against these freaks of nature. We could **finally** return full ownership of this planet to the human race and put those filthy monsters in their place once and for all!"

Lilith had no particular love for monsters—respect for some—but her uncle's plans were criminal, borderline insane!

"I haven't felt this positive about the cause since I personally staked the vampire Radu", he smirked. He thought back, years ago, he had relentlessly hunted Radu and his dark fairy wife across Europe. Van Hellscream caught up with them before they could reach the protection of his brother; Dracula. He killed Allysa in front of Radu by turning her to stone with gorgon power, then shattered her with a hammer. The vampire attacked in a frenzy, as his bride had been pregnant with their first child. Van Hellscream was ready, impaling him through the heart with a white-oak stake. Then to make certain, Van Hellscream left Radu's staked body out in the open, to be reduced to dust by the rising sun.

Lilith knew the story. Heard it all her life. It was but one of the many stories he read to her from the memoires he was writing in his own hand for posterity. Radu, second son of Lord Dracul, was the highest ranking monster that her uncle had hunted and eliminated personally. Rumor had it that his brother, Dracula, had sworn blood-vengeance should he ever learn the identity of the one who'd 'murdered' his brother, sister-in-law and unborn niece.

Lilith was seriously starting to question not only her uncle's methods, but the righteousness of his cause even! Having spent the last several months undercover in the monster world, they no longer seemed so bad to her. Most just wanted to live in peace, and some actively worked toward friendly relations with mankind.

"Well, you had better go 'home', my dear 'DeMona'. Report anything new you learn", he finally said, to dismiss her.

xxXXxx

Duncan was in the back yard, out behind the pool where a group of trees surrounded a group of large boulders. He had lifted a big one out of its position and was carefully carving out a an opening in the bottom of the stone with his strength and claws.

"What's with all the noise back here, Duncan?", his mother asked when she, Kenny, DJ, and Joe came out to see what the commotion was about.

"Hi, Mom, guys", he said as he finished the hole he was carving. "I'm just making a hiding place….for **_this_**."

He opened the Ever After High gym bag he had brought home, and pulled out the Heart of Fire. The guys whistled appreciatively while Margaret gasped in shock. She walked over slowly, and tentatively reached out in reverence.

"I-is that what I **_think_** it is?", she asked. As a scholar of monster culture and the world's foremost expert on the kaijus and their lore, she knew what it was; having read about it and seen ancient drawings.

"Yes", he said. "It **is** the Heart of Fire. It was in Ever After, if you can believe it."

He told them everything; about Draxus saving that world long ago, leaving the treasure there, and him finding it in Heritage Hall.

"Well that explains how it was lost so long ago", Margaret said. She had long wondered how so important an artifact was 'lost' in the first place, given the nature of it's origins. After all, who would be **_insane_** enough to even attempt stealing from the kaijus? Draxus must have had a good reason to hide it in another realm. "It was there….waiting…..all this time….for it's true heir to claim it."

"That's what I thought, too. I don't trust MEGTAF with this, so I'm hiding it here in a way that only **_I_** can get to it.", Duncan said. "Only the four of you and Clawdeen know I have this or where it will be hidden. Let's keep it that way, agreed?"

They all nodded in agreement to keep it secret. Who knows what MEGTAF would do with it if they learned that it was not only **real** , but where it was? They would demand to take custody of it for 'study'. They could destroy it trying to tap it's power to use against the kaijus. It was priceless, and it belonged to Belloc and Duncan by birthright. Duncan placed it back in the bag and positioned it in the bed of the boulder where the hollow he'd made would protect the treasure. After he replaced the boulder, no one could tell anything was under it, and the boulder was too big and heavy for anyone but him to move.

"Well, that's that", Duncan said, dusting himself off.

"Good", Margaret said with a sly smile. "Because correct me if I'm wrong, but don't three of you have an appointment at the florest to order flowers for your dates to the Valentine's Day semi-formal?"

"Voltage!", Duncan exclaimed with a face-palm. "I forgot all about that! Clawdeen would bite me a new one if I forgot her corsage!"

"I'm the lucky one this time", Joe smirked. "Venus is her own corsage, and she's cultivating a special flower for me to wear."

"Yeah, don't rub it in, bro", Kenny said dryly. "Frankie told me the dance is doubling as Draculaura's birthday party as well."

"That's cool", Joe chuckled. "Born on Valentine's Day, who'd of thought?"

"Frankie said it's a long story", Kenny added.

"Well, we better get going, guys", DJ said, as he headed for the garage.

xxXXxx

Lilith was very conflicted and confused. She knew all about her uncle's past efforts; from personally hunting & destroying monsters, to manipulating their own prejudices to keep them fighting amongst themselves, to trying to convince the human governments of the world to take a stand against the monster community. She also knew about his frustrations with the "beauracrats and fools!" She herself had grown up believing in keeping monsters and humans separate and destroying "problem" monsters if needed. But her Uncle Van's current plans…..they were as **wrong** as they were **desperate**! She should've realized he was going off the deep-end when he chose to wait to act against the zombie invasion until he decided the level of public panic was high enough!

But he was family, her uncle, who had taken her in and raised when her parents were killed in an accident. She couldn't question or defy him. He was the expert in these matters. But she couldn't bare the thought of innocent people getting hurt of killed just to further her uncle's agenda. But what could she do? She called Jason.

"Hey, Lilith! I was just thinking about you", he said when he answered. She could almost hear his smile.

"Jason, I really need to talk. Can you come over?"

"Sure, Sweetie", he replied, now sounding concerned. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just really confused and I need to talk to someone I trust who'll understand."

"Ok, I'll be right over. Your 'undercover' place, right?"

"Yeah", she snickered a little.

"Ok, that means 'don't be followed or seen'. I should be there in about ten minutes."

Lilith couldn't help but smile as she hung up.

He pulled into the driveway about twelve minutes later, and kept his helmet on until she let him in.

"Sorry I'm late", he smiled after he hugged and kissed her. "It took me a few minutes to shake the squad of ninjas the were trying to follow me."

"This is no time for jokes", she said seriously, but with a visible smile. "I just learned a little more about my uncle's plans, and I don't know what to do. Listen…."

She told him everything she knew, his expression shifting from interest, to shock, to appalled, to angry.

"I don't know what to do, Jason", she said finally. "He's my uncle, my family. He took me in and raised me. I owe him everything. But this….? I shudder to think of all the innocent people who could get hurt or worse! What do you think?"

"I think your uncle has lost his mind and he needs to be stopped!", Jason said without hesitation. "We should just call the cops and…."

"No, Jason!", she said quickly. "He can't know I betrayed him, and I have no idea where his secret lab is. He's too smart took keep anything at the manor, at least not where anyone would ever find it."

"Ugh! Fine!", he grunted, then he thought for a few long moments. Then an idea came to him.

"Here's what we do", he said. "We call in help as soon as he releases the gremlins, minimizing the damage and hopefully the numbers of injured."

"But I can't…."

"Just let me know when it happens", he told her. " **I'll** make the call, so it can't trace back to you, ok?"

"I guess that's the best we can do", she said. "Thank you, Sweetie."

xxXXxx

(Standard orbit around Jupiter)

"By your command."

"Speak."

"The gas mining has yielded sufficient supplies of the gases and chemicals our factories require", Veron reported. "And our survey teams have found and collected various minerals, as well as gold and silver; all of which, as you know, are key to the construction of our soldiers and computer systems for our fighter-ships and landing crafts."

"Excellent, Veron", Obsidious grinned. "Anything further to report?"

"Nothing new from the transmission signals", Veron replied. "However, a new and extremely powerful energy signature has been detected. Surpisingly enough, it not only seemed to appear from nowhere, but also from the same localization as the tracking signal."

"Facinating", the Psion said. "And the nature of this energy?"

"It has no correlation with anything we have encountered before", Veron said. "And it's potential power out-put is beyond our ability to quantify."

"Then we must have it", Obsidous grinned malevolently. "Place acquiring the source near the top of the priority list post-arrival to our target. As we have gained all we can from this gas-giant and it's satelites, let us move on to the asteroid belt. We shall remain there to process sufficient ore to fill the factory supply holds to capacity with factory-ready aluminum, steel, and titanium."

"By your command."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Lilith starting to see the light as her uncle slips further into the darkness! These new gene-spliced Gremlins were inspired by those from the film 'Gremlins 2' plus I added a few of my own. Let me know if you want to see Whacko, Grouchy, Vixen, and Doofus among the normal Gremlins again!**

 **The invasion draws inexorably closer….and they are preparing to be way more than fully loaded!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	73. Chapter 72: Valentines

**_Hey, Everyone! More set-up for later, as well as plenty of fluff since it is Valentine's Day in my story! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 72: Valentines

Torq was in a good mood. Travelling around on missions for his new employers had been satisfying, not to mention lucrative, as they didn't care if what else he did as long as he accomplished whatever they sent him and his Horde to do. It had also enabled him to increase the numbers of his Horde; as everywhere he went, he found fellow young Subterrans who chafed under the restrictions of their elders. Including several females, his Horde numbered 25 thus far. He grinned malevolently as he dreamed of the time he would return home at the head of a **true** Horde and take over the Subterran community. **Then** he would take his revenge on the kaiju prince!

His reverie was broken when Vlad appeared.

"We have a mission for you, Torq", he grinned. Torq finished his beer and crushed the can against his forehead.

"*BURRRRRP!* Sure! We could use some action", he said, ignoring the disgusted glare of his 'boss'. "There ain't nothin' my Horde and I can't handle!"

"Charming", Vlad said dryly. "But this job will require stealth, so only take your most trusted followers; ones who know the area as well as you do."

"Huh? Where're we goin'?"

"Back to your old stomping grounds", the evil half-ghost grinned.

" **What?!** You want me to go **there?!** ", he was incredulous. "My whole Horde isn't big enough for me to bring back there yet, and you want me to go with only a few?! That would be suicide for us!"

"Only if you get caught, my dear Torq", Vlad said. "All the more reason to only take your most trusted and reliable followers…ones who will obey your orders completely. There is to be **no** looting or pillaging on this mission…..in and out, that's it."

"Why? What are we doing there?", the hobgoblin growled.

"Thanks to Revolta's magick, we've learned that certain….creatures are about to be unleashed there, very soon", Vlad grinned. "You are to rescue any of them that survive and escape the chaos and bring them to us. They could prove very useful indeed. We are sending **you** because these particular creatures are related to goblins and thus it is possible that they would follow you instinctively."

Torq was thinking. This would be extremely dangerous for him and his original Horde, and without the benefit of 'fun and profit on the side', what was in it for him?

"Ok, we'll go", he said finally. "But if this works the way you hope…..then these 'goblin relatives' you're talking about join my Horde. Agreed?"

"Very well, with the exception of a few…..shall we say, **unique** individuals…..they are all yours."

xxXXxx

Duncan and Clawdeen were both happy to be back home, and with their friends at Monster High. Even with Spectra posting their story on her blog, their friends still asked them questions. Their first morning back, they filled everyone in about Cupid around the fountain as they drank their lattes. The next morning was all about the friends they made and the classes they attended at Ever After High.

"So both you and your friend Dirk totally shattered that pretty-boy's record without breaking a sweat?", Clawd asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but don't be too hard on Daring", Duncan smiled. "He and Dirk kinda have an agreement now that benefits both of them."

"The fashions there were pretty clawesome, too", Clawdeen said. "Kind of an even mix of modern casual and fairytale chic, and that was just for class or fanging out! This one girl, Lizzie Hearts, showed me the most fangtastic ball-gown designs I've ever seen! We worked on one design together that I'd love your help with, Jin, Skelita…..it's the dress I'm wearing for the dance."

"Of course", the dragon ghoul smiled. "It is no problem."

"Si", the Hexican skeleton agreed.

"Thanks, ghouls", Clawdeen smiled. "Between the three of us, we should have it ready in time."

"I still don't see why you won't even let me see the design, Sweetie", Duncan griped with a smile.

"No way, Hot-Stuff!", she laughed. "You're not seeing **anything** until I'm wearing it that night! Just wear the outfit I told you and I promise we will match and it will be worth the wait."

"Speaking of the dance—and your party, Draculaura—will the Hex Girls be singing?", Joe asked, as he had become a fan.

"Afraid not", the perky vampire replied. "They're at Monstrous Records recording their first album for the next week. If it sells great—which it will!—the record company wants them to go on tour for the summer. Holt and Claire will handle the music."

"So **that's** why he asked for my help with that new system of his", DJ said. "He needed help integrating it into his custom dj tables. He's expanding to do karaoke as well, so when he dj's he can let people sing songs if they want."

"That's voltageous!", Frankie said.

'Perfect', Duncan thought to himself with a smile. 'I know just the song I want to sing.'

xxXXxx

Marisol Coxi was one happy hominid. When Sansquach, her boyfriend back home, broke up with her when he 'couldn't deal with a long distance relationship' and promptly took up with another ghoul in their village, she had been devastated. Her cousin Abby Bominable tried to cheer her up by telling her it was his loss, which made her smile for a moment but did little to ease her pain.

Then she met Andy Beast. He was as kind and sweet as he was big, strong, and handsome. And, like her, he loved to live life to the fullest. When they learned how happy she was, her family invited him to spend the Crypt-mas holidays with them, and he was happy to go with her to Monster Pichu to meet them. They immediately took a liking to Andy, especially after Sansquach and his ghoulfriend made fun of him for having smaller feet than Marisol. Andy simply grew to his full, fifty foot height, causing them to faint with shock. When he shrank back down to normal, Marisol's family welcomed him with open arms! Her papa gave their relationship his blessing. As they were both of age and very much in love, the village shaman performed the traditional engagement ceremony for them before they returned to Monster High.

Marisol was looking forward to the upcoming dance, and what she had planned for after. Being engaged in the eyes of her people afforded her and Andy certain…..allowances, even before they got married. She intended to surprise him with one in particular that night!

xxXXxx

The days passed quickly, and the dance was that night. The Fashion Club put the finishing touches on Clawdeen's dress.

"It is lovely, Clawdeen", Jinafire said admiringly. "This friend you made is a talented designer. A pity she cannot join us here. I would very much like to meet her."

"Si! As would I", Skelita added.

"Yeah, Lizzie is great. And I do hope you two can meet her someday", Clawdeen said. "Did I tell you that she designs dresses for all her ghoulfriends for every special occasion? And it was fun designing a few things with her. It reminded me of working with you two."

xxXXxx

The guys were all getting dressed for the dance. Duncan carefully buttoned the fancy crimson dress-shirt he had purchased back in Ever After, leaving only the top one un-done. Clawdeen had altered it to accommodate his wings, should he decide to extend them. With this he wore a pair of white slacks, his studded black belt, and his long, sleeveless biker jacket. Black, crimson, and white…..that's what Clawdeen told him to wear. He grinned in anticipation of seeing her new dress.

"Well, I'm off to pick up my date", Joe smiled as he headed for his truck. "We'll see you guys there."

"See ya, bro!", Kenny called after him. They had worked out that Joe would pick up Venus in his truck, while Kenny and DJ would pick up Frankie and Robecca in Kenny's Jeep, and Margaret would let Duncan pick up Clawdeen in her SUV. Duncan and the guys were particularly proud of the gift they made for her, they designed and built it themselves.

Duncan arrived to the Wolf residence just as Romulus left with Howleen. They waved as they drove away. Duncan smiled as he walked up to the door and rang the bell.

"Hello, Duncan. You're looking very dashing tonight", Harriet smiled knowingly after she opened the door. "Clawdeen is almost ready. Please come in."

"Thanks, Mrs. Wolf", he smiled as he entered. "Good evening, Mr. Wolf."

"Duncan", Clawdeen's dad greeted warmly from his recliner, watching tv.

Duncan waited patiently, and about a minute later, he heard a creak from the stairs. Clawson Wolf looked up, and smiled proudly.

"Hi, Duncan", Clawdeen said sweetly, and Duncan turned to look…and was completely gobsmacked by the beauty of his ghoulfriend—his life-mate—descending the stairs like a princess. Her dress hugged her hourglass figure perfectly. The bodice was crimson velvet with black lace off-the-shoulder ruffled straps and cut to show a moderate amount of her cleavage. The skirt was knee-length in total and consisted of black lace over crimson velvet with a white satin ruffle around the edge. Her belt, pumps, and fingerless evening gloves were all white, as was her golden chained purse. And her make-up was flawless, as always. Duncan was broken from his trance when Harriet closed his mouth with a giggle. He stepped over to the ghoul he loved.

"Clawdeen, you look…wow", he breathed. "Just…wow."

"Thanks", she blushed. "You look great, too."

"Oh!", he almost face-palmed, and presented her corsage; which he'd been holding behind his back. "This is for you."

She blushed again, as she presented her hand so he could slid it onto her wrist. It was a single red rose surrounded by white snap-dragons. She smiled and sniffed the lovely scent.

"Thank you, Duncan", she smiled. "It's beautiful."

"Not half as beautiful as you", he said honestly.

"Ok, you two", Harriet grinned. "Smile for pictures!"

The couple smiled and posed for several pictures. Then Clawdeen grabbed a wrapped gift as they left.

"So what are you giving Draculaura?", Duncan asked as they drove to the school for the dance/party.

"Perfume", Clawdeen smirked. "Clawd helped me pick out this particular scent…..it drives him crazy! What's your gift?"

"You'll see", he grinned. "It's from all four of us guys. We worked together to design and build it."

"A new 'monster designs' gizmo, huh?", she smiled.

"Hey! I like that! 'Monster Designs'!", he said. "Ya know, we've been playing with the idea of starting a custom-design-and-build business to make extra money and help save for college! That would be a **perfect** name for us! You're the best, Beautiful!"

Once they reached the school, it didn't take long to reach the hall where the dance and party were being held. Holt and Claire already had the music jumping. After setting their gifts on the gift table, they looked for their friends. They found most of them gathered around the main table with Draculaura, who looked perky and pleased as punch in her new pink and black dress. But there was one face there that surprised Clawdeen.

"Catty!", she cried happily, rushing to hug the black-furred, pink-haired werecat.

"Clawdeen! So good to see you!", she said, hugging her friend.

"Catty, this is Duncan, my mate. Duncan, this is our friend: Catty Noir!"

"Pleased to meet you, Duncan!", she smiled. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Catty Noir?! The singer?!", Duncan was shocked and pleasantly surprised to meet one of his favorite pop-stars. "I **love** your music!"

"Thanks! That's high praise from the Prince of the Kaijus."

"So what brings you back to Monster High, Catty?", Clawdeen asked.

"Well, I wanted my friends to be the **first** to know", her smile was almost teary-eyed as she held up her left hand, showing them the beautiful diamond ring, "Seth and I, we're getting **married!** "

"Oh my Ra!", Cleo exclaimed happily.

"EEEEEEEEE!", squealed Draculaura. "I am so happy for you two!"

"Voltageous!", Frankie gushed.

"That is spooktacular news!", Spectra said. "My I post it on my blog?"

The Wolf siblings all howled with joy, while all the others offered their congrats. Duncan smiled. Seth Ptolemy was a great monster rap-artist, and a good match for Catty.

"So where is the lucky mummy?", Kenny asked.

"Still in Boo York, recording his latest song", she said. "We are telling his mother when I get back there tomorrow, so please wait until the next day to post, Spectra? We want her to hear it from **us** first, not the media."

"Of course", the Ghostly Gossip assured her.

The party and dance progressed, with Clawd doting on Draculaura the whole time. Holt and Claire played a mix of love songs and 'rock-out' tunes. All the couples taking to the floor to dance close during all the slow songs; both straight-play and karaoke, most of them dedications to the singer's dates. Some sang on-stage next to Holt's dj table so they could use the screen-assist, a few sang from memory with a wearable mic so they could dance with their dates while they sang, one or two couples even did duets.

Clawdeen received many compliments for her dress, as did all the ghouls.

"Ok, guys and ghouls", Holt said through his mic. "We're about half-way thru this dance party, so it's time presents, cake, and ice-scream with the birthday ghoul: Draculaura!"

Everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' as the huge cake was carried out by Manny Taur. Draculaura closed her eyes to make her wish, blew out the candles, then made the first cut. It was a tall, heart-shaped, dark chocolate-frosted, lemon cake with red-raspberry filling between the layers.

After the cake and ice-scream, Draculaura began to open her gifts; thanking each person as she did so. The most common gifts were jewelry and cosmetics. Ghoulia gave her a new lap-top. The entire Magickal Studies class gave her a full-length mirror that they had magicked to show her reflection, despite her being a vampire. Cleo gave her a one-year membership to her favorite spa. Venus gave her a night-blooming flower to plant in her garden. She really liked the perfume Clawdeen gave her, especially when she saw how much Clawd liked it!

"Draculaura, this is from all four of us", Duncan said, handing her the gift he, Kenny, DJ, and Joe had made. "We designed and built it just for you."

"Aw! Thanks, you guys!", she gushed as she opened it. Inside was a gizmo that seemed familiar yet different. The main motor-base was black and stainless steel, there were multiple blades and pitchers and cups. "Uh…this is great guys. But…um…what is it?"

"This", DJ started with a smile, "is a combination blender and smoothy maker."

"With this, you can make just about any kind of vegetable and/or fruit drink you can imagine", Joe grinned. "It can also make ice-scream milk-shakes."

"You can even make your own salad-dressings in it", Kenny told her, as the guys showed her how it worked. "And the motor is powerful enough to pulverize even seeds, nuts, and fruit-rinds. No need to peel and you can add nutrients from seeds and nuts, and still have a completely smooth drink!"

"Oh my ghoul! This is so perfect!", she gushed as she hugged all four of them. "Thank you so much!"

After the gifts, the dance picked back up. At an opportune moment, Duncan separated from Clawdeen went to Holt and made his request, to which the dj smiled knowingly. Duncan returned as the current song ended, and Clawdeen saw he was wearing the mic.

"Uh-oh. What are you up to, Hot-Stuff?", she asked, as all their friends smiled. A few of them knew he'd been practicing a particular song for days.

"This is for you, my beautiful Clawdeen", he said sweetly, and every ghoul in the room 'aaaaaawwww'-ed as the music started and he offered his hand in silent request to dance with him. She blushed as he led her to the dance-floor for a spotlight dance.

 _There's a calm surrender to the rush of day_

 _When the heat of the rolling world can be turned away_

 _An enchanted moment, and it sees me through_

 _It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you_

 _And can you feel the love tonight?_

 _It is where we are_

 _It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer_

 _That we got this far_

 _And can you feel the love tonight?_

 _How it's laid to rest?_

 _It's enough to make kings and vagabonds_

 _Believe the very best_

As he sang, he looked into her beautiful amber eyes, his own emerald orbs filled with love. During the instrumental break, he kissed her…..deep and sweet, pouring all his emotion into the kiss.

 _There's a time for everyone, if they only learn_

 _That the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn_

 _There's a rhyme and reason to the wild outdoors_

 _When the heart of this star-crossed voyager beats in time with yours_

 _And can you feel the love tonight?_

 _It is where we are_

 _It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer_

 _That we got this far_

 _And can you feel the love tonight?_

 _How it's laid to rest?_

 _It's enough to make kings and vagabonds_

 _Believe the very best_

 _It's enough to make kings and vagabonds_

 _Believe the very best_

"I love you, Clawdeen", he breathed, after removing the mic.

"I love you, Duncan", she replied, then they shared another deep kiss.

xxXXxx

The dance was breaking up, as the many couples started to head for home or Inspiration Point. Marisol had a wonderful time at the dance with Andy, and Draculaura loved the hand-made black and pink sarape she had given her. But now she had something else on her mind.

"Andy, I would very much like to see your new home", she said sweetly in her Spanish accent.

"Are you sure, Mari?", he asked. "Doesn't Headmistress Bloodgood have a curfew for the dorm students that live with her?"

"Si, she does", she replied. "But I ask her for—how you say?—an extentione, and she said 'yes'. It is a tree-house, no?"

"Yeah, but it has all the modern conveniences", he said as he led the way. "The school shop-classes all chipped in to build it for me here on school grounds. The headmistress said she got special permission to do it. After I graduate, it will be used as guest quarters or a dorm for another student like me who's used to living in a tree."

They reached a massive willow tree, the branches and leaves obscuring most of the tree house from view. They climbed the steps to the porch and then entered as he switched on the light. The main room was an open kitchen/living-room combo with a sink, fridge, stove, cabinets, couch, coffee-table, and entertainment center. Off to the side was a small bathroom. Behind the couch were more stairs leading to the bedroom.

"It is beautiful, Andy", she smiled. "It reminds me of my home in Monster Pichu."

"Thanks. I kinda designed it based on the designs of the houses there", he said as they sat on the couch.

She smiled as she looked into his eyes, then passionately crushed her lips to his! Caught momentarily by surprise, he melted into the kiss. He knew she was a passionate monster, it was the nature of her people. What surprised him was that she was unbuttoning his shirt as she pressed her body against his!

"Mari? What are you…?"

"Hssshhhh, mi amor", she cooed. "In the eyes of my family and people, we are both of age and engaged. I want to give myself to you on this bela noches. Come, mi amor, take me to your bed."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: I do not own the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", it was written and performed by Sir Elton John for the Disney film "The Lion King". I just thought it was the perfect song for Duncan to sing to Clawdeen.**

 **The Marisol/Andy lemon will be up soon in my rated 'M' work "You Make Lemonade". Why touch on such little known characters? Don't worry…..there is a method to my madness! And any Spanish-speaking readers I may have, please forgive me if I got anything wrong in Marisol's dialogue.**

 **The Dark Council continues to plot! And thanks to Revolta's magick, they know about Van Hellscream's gremlin plan!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are welcome as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	74. Chapter 73

**_Hey, Everyone! This one has a lot of set-up not only for later, but an action packed pay-off this chapter! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 72

A few weeks had passed since the dance and Draculaura's party. The SKRM team had begun practicing to prepare for the spring season. Clawd was confident, given how well the fall season had gone, thanks in no small part to Duncan! The werewolf was currently splitting his time between Scream practice and wrapping up the casketball season. His efforts were eased somewwhat by the return of Heath as well as Thad joining the casketball team. The team was headed for the state finals soon, and after they won he could focus on Scream.

Cleo was also in good spirits. The squad was doing exceptionally well, and she had no doubt they would bring home the championship. If they did, and did it again next year, she will have out-done her sister by bringing home more fear-leading titles than her! Nefera would have a fit!

Everyone was gathered at the fountain before class, just talking and/or drinking their morning beverages.

"Hey, is anyone else going to the drive-in on Wedneday?", DJ asked, his arm around a grinning Robecca.

"What's playing?", Clawd asked.

"That's the hex-cellent part", DJ grinned. "Starting this week, Hank will be showing a Star Wars movie every week on monster nite in 'historical order'. This week it's gonna be 'Rogue One'! Then the original trilogy the next three weeks, then finally 'The Force Awakens'!"

"You are such a nerd, DJ!", Duncan laughed. "But at least it's not 'Pacific Rim'!"

"Hey! **_Everybody_** loves Star Wars!", DJ said defensively as Robecca giggled. "And I **still** say that giant robots **_could_** take down…!"

"Keep dreaming, bro!", Duncan chuckled. "But you **are** right that the movies sound good. What do you say, Captain? Think it's worth cutting practice a bit shorter on Wednesdays for the next few weeks?"

"I don't see why not", Clawd grinned, looking forward to snuggling in the front seat with Draculaura.

"It could be fun", Cleo added, kissing Deuse on the cheek.

"Frankie?", Duncan smiled.

"Not this week", she said. "I'm helping in the clinic that nite."

"We'll pass, too", Joe said.

"Yeah, we already have plans", Venus smiled.

"That's right", Clawdeen said, remembering. "You two are helping my sister with a plant project."

"What do you think, Jinx?", Thad asked his ghoul with a smile.

"I'd love it! I've never been to a drive-in boovie before!", the beautiful hobgoblin said.

Just then, the first bell rang, and they all headed inside.

xxXXxx

"The 'time-release' packages will all be in place across town by Wednesday afternoon", the twenty-three year old, dark-haired man reported with a smirk.

"Excellent, Marcus", Van Hellscream grinned maliciously. "They'll be released shortly after sun-down. They'll over-run the town in no time. Property damage! Civilian injuries! Chaos! Mayhem! Panic! The public outcry against the monsters will be incredible! Then when we exterminate the infestation, we will be seen as the heroes and saviors we are! Make certain that the electrified fence around the estate is at full power before sunset that night. It wouldn't do for them to trash my home."

"Uncle Van?", Lilith called as she entered his study. "Oh! Hello, Marcus."

"Lilith", Marcus acknowledged, and hid his discomfort as she entered. He had often admired her before, when she was human; finding her to be a very… attractive young lady. He had, in fact, been waiting patiently for her to turn 18, so he could confess his attraction and see what would come of it. He knew her uncle did not like her current boyfriend and would likely approve of his pursuit. But since her transformation, he found his thoughts of her turning more…..pornographic! He could not understand it. She had taken the form of a **monster** …..a **_demon_** , even! It was revolting to everything he held to be true! But he could not stop thinking of how **erotic** it would be to….,,

"Lilith my dear", Van Hellscream said. "Anything new to report from Monster High?"

"Just that the Hex Girls have returned, so the class coven is whole again", she told him. "So things are pretty much back to normal….well, normal for Monster High."

"Very well, my dear", he replied. "Get any supplies you need and return to your safe house."

She nodded and left, heading for the kitchen. She had overheard enough before she entered her uncle's study. She'd known Marcus for years, ever since her uncle had caught him trying to burglarize the mansion. The teen-age boy had gotten past some very sophisticated security systems and well-trained guards. He had been impressed enough by the boy's skills to give Marcus a choice: jail, or work for him. Over the years since, Marcus had worked his way up the organization to finally become her uncle's most trusted operative and right-hand man.

And now she knew the gremlins were being released two nights from now!

xxXXxx

(Flashback, several months ago)

Boodika did much more than was commonly known. Yes, she was renowned as arguably the wisest and most powerful witch in the world, and she was currently the teacher of Magickal Studies at Monster High; but she also availed herself for consultation by the Monster Council of Royals, one whose word carried nearly as much weight as a royal. She had just revealed to Claire that the girl was the great grand-daughter of her long lost sister; Jordanna. She was well acquainted with Hexiciah Steam, the Time-Walker of this realm, and knew of his compatriots in the Time-Stream. And, old as she was, she was still a seeker of knowledge, a trait her parents had taught her as a child.

"The truest witches and wizards are those who never stop learning or exploring; ever seeking new or lost knowledge", her father had said when she was a child. She had taken that lesson to heart all her life.

Thus, she often explored the multiverse through her crystal ball. She had found and learned of many other realms in this way; some similar to her own, and some vastly different, and a few in which she made contact with others like herself, like Baba Yaga in Ever After.

This evening found her at her crystal ball. She had found another realm she had never seen before. It seemed to be a medieval world of magick, humans, and monsters; but also had such things as plumbing and other conveniences; albeit at a more primitive level.

"Who are you and what is your purpose looking into my realm?", a beautiful face that suddenly appeared in her crystal ball demanded. Her pale beauty was as unearthly as it would be seductive to virtually any man who saw it. Her long hair was black as the deepest shadow and her eyes were an ethereal blue rimmed with fiery red surrounded by black scoleras. Her ears were pointed like an elf's and red horns curved over her hair from the back of her head.

"Please forgive my intrusion", Boodika said respectfully. "My name is Boodika. I am merely a peaceful explorer and seeker of knowledge. While scanning the realms in my crystal, yours piqued my interest due to both the similarities and differences to my own. I had not intended to offend anyone. If you wish me to go and never return, I will do so."

The face of the beautiful woman softened with a small smile, showing her abbreviated fangs.

"I sense that you speak the truth, and your respectful tone pleases me", she said. "I am Desdemona, Demon Queen of this realm. You may explore and learn on one condition."

"And what is that, your majesty?", Boodika asked cautiously. She didn't sense any evil from this 'demon queen', nor any dark intent, and the humans she'd seen did not appear oppressed; but she was not going to take any un-necessary chances.

"That you reciprocate in kind", she said. "I, too, enjoy learning anything new. I have made a few friends in other realms exploring as you have, and would be delighted to make another. Ah, I sense your apprehension because I am a demoness. It's quite all right, I am not offended. Caution is always wise, but not all demons are evil, as you know. When I rose to power after the fall of my Demon Lord predecessor, I sought to end the bloodshed of my world by turning all the monsters of my world into beautiful, human-like females. My dream is to unite mankind and monsterkind in love. Creatures that once sought to hunt and kill humans now only seek to find the man who is their perfect mate to love. And those that once feasted on human flesh, now feed on spirit energy or mana instead."

"Your dream is not unlike one that many share in my realm", Boodika said. "Peaceful coexistence between monsters and normies, as humans are also called here. A worthy goal indeed. Very well, I accept."

"Excellent! You may explore all you wish via your crystal", Desdemona said. "And any time you wish to talk, simply contact my realm and call my name. I like you, Boodika, and I look forward to speaking with you again."

(end flashback)

xxXXxx

Jason was thinking. Lilith texted last night to tell him what she'd overheard. Now he had to figure out a way to warn people or tell the authorities that would not back-fire on her. He was still thinking when he got to his locker. He opened it….to get sprayed in the face with water, and raucus laughter nearby.

"Lee! Jeez, you guys!", Jason groaned, as he knew those laughs anywhere, and found the rather clever water-gun rig in his locker. "Do you ever take a break from these jokes? And how the hell do you keep getting into my locker, anyway?!"

"Aw c'mon, Jason!", Lee chuckled as he came over with Miguel and Jamal. "I kept my word: no more **messy** jokes on you. Water isn't messy. And you gotta admit that was funny!"

"Ha-ha, hilarious", Jason said deadpan, wiping his face. "I swear you three have gotten sneakier since you started dating those werecats."

"Thank you! We'll take that as a compliment!", Lee grinned, knowing Toralei and the twins would appreciate the 'kudos'.

Then it hit him! Jason knew at least five guys he could count on to help him with his idea.

"Guys, I need the three of you to meet me after school and we need to catch Ken Rogers and Chad Davis before they leave", he said.

"Ok, whats the deal?", Lee asked, seeing how serious his friend was.

"I'll explain later", he said. "Just know that it's important and no time for jokes."

xxXXxx

"Ok, Jason", Kenny began, suspicious, "What is so important that you need **us** for? The only thing all five of us have in common is that we're dating monsters; and your girlfriend is Lilith Van Hellscream."

"I don't blame you, I'd be skeptical, too, Kenny", Jason told him and the others. "But these guys will tell you that I'm not a hater, and Lilith isn't really one either, but her uncle….."

"It's true, Kenny", Chad said. "Jason has always been on the level with monsters. And after Halloween last year, Lilith **did** change. But then her uncle came back."

"Fine", Kenny said guardedly. "I'll take your word for it. So what's going on?"

"I can't go into details, because it could put Lilith in danger", Jason said. "But I need you guys to help me keep watch in town tomorrow night, and call the cops and your monster friends as soon as anything weird happens. Until then….I really hate to ask this, but you gotta keep it secret to protect Lilith."

"I'm not sure I like this", Lee said, shaking his head.

"You and me both", Kenny said firmly. "There are too many unknowns. What are you **not** telling us, Jason?"

"I told you, I **can't** really tell you more or you might freak and jump the gun; which would put Lilith in danger. Let's just say that I need a faster response to what's gonna happen tomorrow night than what would be without anyone on guard, and I need it to look like happenstance rather than a forewarning."

The other boys still looked skeptical, and Jason sighed in resignation.

"Look, guys, Lilith warned me that her uncle is gonna pull something really nasty; and she did so at more risk to herself than you can possibly imagine. She's sickened that this plan risks great harm to humans in the name of increasing monster-hate while making him and his hunters look more like heroes."

"Ok, say we believe you", Chad said. "Why come to us? Why not just do it yourself?"

"Simple: more eyes equals more ground covered", Jason said. "Plus, you're all humans that have a stake in this fucked up game Van Hellscream is playing."

"Both good points, guys", Jamal said, while Miguel nodded.

"I agree", Lee added.

"I'm in", Chad said. They all looked at Kenny, the only hold-out.

"Ok, I guess we have no choice", Kenny said. "Just one question, Jason?"

"What's that?"

"Should we be armed?"

xxXXxx

'Monster Nite' at the New Salem Drive-In. Duncan had picked up Clawdeen and they arrived early enough to get a prime spot for the boovie, as had DJ and Robecca. Kenny and Joe had helped them rig up a small trailer to carry the four lawn loungers and both the stereo boom-boxes they would need. After parking their bikes, Clawdeen and Robecca set-up their spots, while the boys hit the concession stand for snacks and drinks.

Deuce and Cleo arrived in his Must-Fang convertible. Next was Draculaura and Clawd, then Ghoulia and Slo-Mo. Gil pulled in driving his classic '37 Ford 'Woodie' with Lagoona. Finally, Heath and Abby arrived in his hot rod.

"So where was Kenny going when you two left your house?", Clawdeen asked as they all settled in to watch the previews before the boovie started.

"Not sure", Duncan said. "He said something about fanging out with Chad and a few friends from school."

"Well with Frankie busy tonight, we can't really blame him for not coming, can we, luvs?", Robecca said.

"True", DJ agreed. "I just hope they're doing something more fun than just fanging-out playing video games."

xxXXxx

"Ok, guys, I'm in position in the club district", Kenny said into his walky. Jason had supplied them all with the low-tech walky-talkies to keep their phones available to make emergency calls. As a kid, he'd loved to play soldier and cops & robbers, so he had a bunch of them left over from that time; they'd just needed batteries.

"And I'm in the town square", Chad added. They had spread out across the normie side of town, particularly the shop and business areas. Jason figured they were the most likely areas to hide the crates and be hit first, rather than the residential areas where big crates would be noticed.

"All clear around the resteraunts", Lee said with a mouthful of pizza.

"The beach area is clear", Miguel reported. "And this end of the warehouse district is quiet, too."

"So's the East end", Jamal added. "And you better save us some of that pizza, Lee!"

"Guys! Focus!", Jason said, cruising back and forth from the dividing line to the warehouse district, going through town to overlap all the areas they were watching. "It could happen anytime after the sun completely sets."

"Well we're here", Kenny said. " **Now** can you tell us what we're looking for?"

"Ok", Jason relented. "We're looking for gremlins."

"Say what?!", Lee scoffed. "You gotta be kidding?! How much trouble could such little monsters be?"

"Gremlins are no joke, guys!", Kenny said ominously. "They're not that small and can be really dangerous. Duncan and his friends fought a bunch of them on that trip they took last Fall. Nasty little buggers."

"That's not the half of it this time", Jason told them. "Some of these have been modified with deadly new abilities."

"Like what?", Miguel asked, checking his cache of fireworks and his baseball bat.

"Don't be surprised if you see some that can fly, or spin webs, or spit venom", he told them.

"What?!", Jamal blanched.

"Van Hellscream must be crazy!", Kenny said. Now he was glad he insisted that they all also carry bright flashlights.

"Ya think?!", Lee added.

"Listen, guys", Kenny said. "If these things are what I think they are, then keep your flashlights handy! They can't stand bright light."

xxXXxx

All across town, in storage rooms, warehouses and loading docks; large crates burst open releasing small clouds of sleeping gas that easily disappate. With the gas gone, the sleeping forms that had been contained in the crates began to awaken. They immediately begin looking for any kind of mischief they can get into!

Jason was cruising through downtown, and waved to Kenny and Chad as he passed each of them. Suddenly, firetrucks came roaring down the street, sirens blaring. Seconds later, frightened people came screaming out of a club down a side street!

"Guys! It's starting!", Jason told them through their radios. "Everybody call the cops! We need them to spread out! Then call your monster friends! We need all the help we can get!"

"Got it! Activity here, too!", Lee reported. All the others reported disturbances of some kind from their locations as well.

Inside one of the warehouses on the East side, the Gremlins were gleefully trashing everything in sight. One was playing with a toaster oven in a breakroom, giggling as it started a fire. As the flames spread to the paper towels and styrofoam coffee cups, it triggered the alarm…..and the fire sprinklers!

All the gremlins in the building laughed maniacally as they were drenched with water…..each gremlin spawning dozens more like itself! This repeated in several locations as the mayhem and hijinks of the gremlins sparked more fires. They were getting crowded in their locations, and needed to get outside! Windows and doors began to get opened or smashed, and the gremlins poured into the outside world!

What they found were police and firemen right there to respond in several places; the cops slowing the invasion, until the firemen unwittingly made things worse by spraying them along with the fires. Still, the quick response was able to minimize civilian casualties for now. Jason's plan had worked!

"We got a problem!", Kenny said through the radios. "I can't reach Duncan! He must have his phone turned off for his date!"

"I got Jinafire!", Chad said. "She's on her way with Dani and a few others. Plus she told Headmistress Bloodgood, who's alerting the monster authorities to see if they can help."

"I got Joe and Venus", Kenny added in some relief. "They're coming with Howleen and some more werewolves, but they can't reach Clawdeen, Clawd, or Draculaura. **All** their phones must be off while they're at the movie!"

"Toralei and the twins are rallying the werecats", Lee reported.

xxXXxx

Van Hellscream was shocked as he and his hunters arrived in town. By his estimation, the first-responders should have been overwhelmed immediately due to a delayed response and the number of locations and sheer numbers of gremlins. The way things look, the must have been called into multiple locations at once as soon as things began!

"Deploy and spread out!", he told them. "Attract as much attention as possible to our efforts to exterminate these vermin! And keep your body-cams on! The video footage will serve us well."

xxXXxx

The cops and firemen were slowly being overwhelmed. The firemen retreated quickly after dousing the fires when they saw their water was making the vicious creatures multiply! Worse than the regular gremlins were the hybrids. Several officers found themselves tangled up in webs while the spider-gremlins teased and tormented them. The scorpion-gremlins laughed maniacly as they pinched or stung anyone who got too close.

"Hold it right there, laughing boy!", Detective Murphy yelled at a snake-like creature. It giggle-hissed at him and raised it's ears…which also spread it's hood like a cobra! Murphy ducked to avoid the venom it spit at him! He fired his gun, killing the thing. His relief was short-lived, as more gremilns of all kinds appeared and kept coming.

"Pull back!", he ordered his officers, and they retreated back toward their cruisers.

At the drive-in, the movie—and the 'making-out'—was just getting good, when ugly shadows began to appear on the screen, then the movie suddenly stopped. Everyone looked toward the small building that housed the snack-bar and projection room.

"Oh no! Not **these** things again!", Duncan growled as everyone saw gremlins trashing the place and tormenting Hank and his serving crew! The monsters sprang into action. They killed several, but were then shocked when a few spread their wings and took to the air! Duncan blasted one with a fire-ball as he extended his own wings to fight the others in the air.

"This is new!", he called down to his friends, blasting the flyers.

"No kidding, Hot-Stuff!", Clawdeen snarled. "Whoa! And so is **this!** "

Duncan looked and saw her and Clawd struggling with a scorpion-gremlin! It lunged it's stinger at them, only for Clawdeen to catch it harmlessly in one hand, then sever that last section of tail with the claws of her other hand! It screamed and tried to grab her with it's hands and pinchers, but Clawd lunged in and broke it's neck.

"Did I miss something?", Draculaura asked. "Where did these things come from?"

DJ closed his eyes and turned his head slightly.

"I'm picking up emergency radio calls from all over the normie side of town", he said. Duncan turned on his phone, and saw several missed calls from Kenny and Chad! He dialed Kenny.

"It's about time you checked your damn phone!", Kenny exclaimed when he answered. "We need you and all your friends! The normie side of town is overrun with gremlins!"

"We're on our way!"

Back in town, Chad was fighting off gremlins left and right with the tri-sectional staff Jin and her family had given him. The monster friends they had been able to contact right away were beginning to arrive and help fight.

"Duncan and all his friends at the drive-in are on their way!", Kenny announced through the radio.

"That's good news", Jason said as he clobbered a bat-gremlin with his baseball bat.

Van Hellscream was still trying to figure out the situation as he and his agents actively destroyed every gremlin in sight with flame-throwers and shotguns, often alongside police and armed citizens. The situation should have been far more dire by the time they arrived to take action.

Then his confusion and anger increased exponentially when he saw monsters killing gremlins left and right in various places! Completely counter-productive to his plans! They were **never** supposed to know this was going on! That was why the gremlins were specifically **not** released anywhere near the dividing line of town! He didn't dare risk attacking the monsters during this crisis he created, as it might have the opposite effect from what he originally intended. His goals would now depend almost entirely on phase 2 of his plans! Something or someone had thrown a wrench into this plan, and he would not rest until he learned the truth!

Clawdeen suddenly found herself tangled in a huge web in an alley. A spider-gremlin was giggling madly as it approached her.

"Don't even think about it, bug-breath!", she snarled as she slashed herself free with her claws. It tried to retreat but crumbled when she gutted it with a swipe of her claws.

In front of an old, stone church; Deuce faced off with several bat-gremlins. He was still miffed that they had interrupted his date with Cleo. They landed and faced him, hissing a laughing. He gave them a wicked smirk and focused his power like his mother had been teaching him.

"Let's rock, guys", he grinned as he raised his shades, turning them all to stone. "Maybe this church could use you guys as gargoyles."

Duncan had just stabbed a scorpion-gremlin with it's own stinger and thrown him at a spider-gremlin and then blasted both with a fire-ball. Then; using a combination of his strength, claws, and martial arts, he made short work of the half dozen regulars that tried to swarm him. He knew the monster authorities were on the way. He and the others just had to help the normie police, civilians, and these weird armored guys hold out until then. These armored guys worried him. They reminded him of what Deuce told them all about similar guys the night of the zomboys, particularly the one who'd tried to kill his gorgon friend! He noticed that they neither helped nor hindered him of the other monsters, but went to great lengths to help any of the humans.

DJ and Robecca helped the city engineers shut-down the water supply once the fires were out to prevent the gremlins from multiplying further. Fire-fighters began to fight alongside everyone, using whatever tools they had as weapons. The tide was turning.

A cobra-gremlin giggle-hissed at Duncan just before it struck. Duncan was able to block the first strike with the hard, sharp ridges of his forearm, then caught the little sucker by the throat as he tried to strike again. Duncan broke his neck with a flick of his wrist. Then he saw monster cruisers with flashing purple lights and sirens arriving. The Monster authorities.

xxXXxx

Less than an hour later, the situation was well in hand, the gremlins almost all destroyed. They would all be dead soon. The armored men had disappeared. The normie first responders and monster authorities were comparing notes. Casualties had been surprisingly low! A lot of injuries among the cops and fire-fighters, and several civilians, but no deaths; that was lucky.

Unknown to them all, a large van was leaving the area.

"You guys had better worth the risk I took to rescue you", Torq growled at the new passengers in back with Lunk, Tragg, Trogg, and Chazz. When the original alpha of the gremlins realized the tide was turning against them, he rallied all the originals he could in an attempt to escape un-noticed. He feared the worst when he and the others were confronted by Torq and his Horde members.

"Come with me if you want to live", he'd commanded them. They instinctively submitted, the cobra-gremlin ceding his authority to this leader of higher forms of their kind. He, along with the other original hybrids and several regular gremlins, followed him to the van.

"I'll admit", Torq grinned, "you guys are good and nasty, and you hybrids are impressively cool. Welcome to the Horde!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Sorry this one took so long. This was a tough chapter to write, plus I'm kinda on vacation this week.**

 **Will Van Hellscream find out that Lilith betrayed him? What will he do if he does? And what if the guys demand answers from Jason? This story arc is just warming up!**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are welcome as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	75. Chapter 74

**_Hey, Everyone! Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but as I mentioned last chapter I've been on vacation. Some secrets revealed and a lot of set-up this chapter. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 74

"Our tech boys have posted the edited body-cam footage to our homepage and all the usual web-sites and media groups", Marcus reported. "The local news has picked it up as well. Unfortunately, they are only using it in conjuction with their own footage and reports, despite the commentary we included with the footage."

"To be expected", Van Hellscream grumbled. "No doubt they are also showing the monsters' aid as well. GAH! What the hell happened?! It should have been complete chaos when we arrived! Chaos that would have been blamed on the monsters. And the monsters should never have known what was happening! **How** did they find out?! How did the authorities respond so quickly?!"

"I'm looking into it, Sir", Marcus said. "I'm working our man in the police department to get me a copy of the traffic-cam footage to see if I can find anything."

"Very good, Marcus", Van Hellscream grinned. "I knew I could count on you. Report your findings to me immediately if you discover anything."

xxXXxx

The next day, both sides of town were abuzz with the gremlin invasion. Many humans were grateful for the help of the monsters, but a few die-hard haters speculated that the monsters were to blame. Even the police were divided. Detective Murphy and others like him steadfastly supported their monster allies, while the chief and many others weren't so sure.

Meanwhile, the monster authorities had offered to assist in the investigation, only to be 'politely' turned away by high ranking officers who secretly supported Van Hellscream.

Around the fountain at Monster High, speculation was rife about the events of the previous evening.

"We managed to get a few answers from Kenny when we got home", Duncan told his friends; indicating himself, DJ, and Joe. "It seems that he and the other normies with ghoulfriends were drafted to watch out for exactly what happened."

"Are you fearious?", Clawdeen asked. "Who recruited them? And why didn't they just howl a full-on warning ahead of time?"

"He said that the source was Jason Maxwell", DJ said.

"Lilith Van Hellscream's boyfriend?", Frankie said in surprise.

"Yeah", Joe added. "He said that she told him what was going to happen and in order to protect her, they had to make the fast response look like a coincidence."

"It makes sense, in a way", Duncan said. "Who knows what her uncle would do to her if he found out that she warned anyone?"

"But Chad told me that Lilith was supposed to be away travelling the world with her uncle for the past several months", Jinafire added. "All her normie friends think they won't be back until next school year. If they haven't really been gone, then what else could they have been doing or planning all this time?"

"Shouldn't we tell the monster authorities?", Cleo asked.

"Aheeeuhah?"

"Ghoulia's right, Babe; with what proof?", Deuce said. "He'd just deny everything. Plus, everyone thinks he's out of the country, remember? He could probably just pretend he's not home if they come knocking."

"I want answers!", Duncan snarled, punching his fist into his hand. "And I don't care if I have to smash my way into his mansion to get them!"

"Forget it, Duncan", Clawd told him. "Even if you got through his security, they would just turn your actions against you and **you** would get in deep trouble. Otherwise, we'd have gotten rid of him ourselves a long time ago."

"I guess you're right about that", Duncan growled dejectedly. Then he brightened. "But there's someone else I **can** get answers from."

"What are you thinkin', Hot-Stuff?", Clawdeen asked him with a raised eye-brow.

"A covert op, Beautiful", Duncan smirked before kissing her sweet lips. "Don't worry. I can handle it quickly and quietly on my own…..tonight."

xxXXxx

Jason was still grateful that his plan worked out fairly well. The quick response to the threat and mayhem of the gremlins had drastically reduced the potential damage and injuries. Plus no one had been killed or maimed. Lilith was glad to hear it when he texted to her how it had gone when he got home last night.

So he had a smile on his face as he dragged his family's trash cans to the curb to wait for early morning pick up. He was on his way back, when he was suddenly grabbed and carried into the air!

"Hey! What the…?!"

"Shut up and stop struggling!", a male voice told him. "I'm not gonna hurt ya, but I want answers!"

Whoever had grabbed him, swooped low into a deserted park and gently dropped him. Jason landed on his feet and looked cautiously around. Duncan landed in front of him, looking in his eyes as he retracted his wings.

"Geez, dude!", Jason said. "What's with the unscheduled flight?!"

"I'm Duncan…..Kenny's my foster brother", Duncan told him. "We appreciate what you did last night, but I got questions that need answers."

"You got a weird way of thanking a guy", Jason grumbled. "To say nothing of putting him in the mood to be interrogated!"

"Sorry about that. But like I said, I need answers", Duncan said. "And I figured you wouldn't want anyone to see us having a conversation."

"Weeelll….I guess you're right about that", Jason admitted. "But I don't know what I can tell you that I didn't already tell Kenny. If I tell you any more, it might put Lilith in danger."

"So there **is** more to tell", Duncan concluded, causing Jason to face-palm himself. "Come on, Jason, spill. Maybe my friends and I can help her. Lilith and her asshole uncle aren't travelling the world, are they?"

"No, they're still in town", Jason admitted.

"And she knows his plans, doesn't she?"

"I think so."

"I need to talk to her", Duncan said.

"Are you nuts?!", Jason exclaimed. "You have **_no idea_** how much she's put herself at risk already! ** _I_** wasn't even supposed to find out about her myself! I did by accident, and it's been risky even for me to go to her safehouse!"

Jason slapped his hand over his mouth when he realized what he'd said, and Duncan grinned.

"So she's staying at a safehouse", Duncan smiled. "Is her uncle with her?"

"No, he's at his mansion", Jason slumped. "She's alone."

"Get your backwards trike", Duncan told him. "I'll follow you from the air. There's no moon, so no one will see me."

"But….!"

"We. Are. Going. Now!", Duncan said firmly. "And give me your phone. I don't want her to hide if you warn her. This is too important."

xxXXxx

Marcus was going over the traffic-cam footage from the night before, particularly in the time leading up to the release of the gremlins. He noted that several monster couples had passed a certain cam just before sunset. Upon checking the town map, he saw that the only logical place they could've gone was the drive-in theater. Marcus scoffed at this. They had tried to convince Hank not to go through with this 'monster nite' plan of his, but the man only had dollar-signs in his eyes! Well, with the report Hank made of gremlins attacking the drive-in, that explained how **some** of the monsters arrived so quickly.

He was scanning the footage from various cams for hours when he noticed it. Five certain boys, each in a different area, and all carrying walky-talkies. They looked familiar….of course! He turned and opened a file on his personal lap-top. He was right! Each of them was a traitor to the human race by being in romantic relationships with monsters! Ken Rogers, dating Frankie Stein. Chad Davis, dating the dragon-girl Jinafire Long. Lee Chen, dating Toralei Stripe. Jamal Jones, dating Meowlody Manx. Miguel Gomez, dating Purrsephone Manx; all three werecats. They had files on these boys! But why were they there? What did they know? He watched as all of them used their radios to obviously talk to each other, then all used their cell phones at the first sign of trouble.

Well that explained that, but how did they know trouble was brewing beforehand? What was the link? He cut back to earlier in the evening, shortly before the festivitites started. Finally…..he found it! And he knew that backwards motor-trike anywhere! Jason Maxwell! And he had a radio just like the others as he cruised back and forth through all the areas! But if **he** knew, then that means….. He went to Van Hellscream.

"Sir, I think I know what happened", Marcus told him.

"Excellent, Marcus!"

"And you are **_not_** gonna like it, Sir."

xxXXxx

Lilith was watching some TV. Her uncle had spared no expense on her under-cover ID's home; all the best channels plus on-demand! Still, it was lonely. She was tempted to call Jason to spend some time with her, but it was too risky right now. She jumped in surprise when her doorbell rang.

On occasion, one or more of her Monster High classmates would stop by, but never this late. She looked through the peep-hole and smiled when she saw Jason.

"How did you know is was thinking about you?", she asked as she opened the door.

"DeMona?", Duncan said from beside Jason, who looked sheepish and apologetic. Lilith blanched, then slumped. She stepped aside to let them in.

"I'm sorry, Lilith", Jason said pleadingly. "He caught me by surprise…."

"I **made** him lead me here, Lilith", Duncan said. "And now things are starting to come together. Your uncle sent you to spy on Monster High and our community in general by somehow turning you into a monster, didn't he?"

"Yes, he used Boogie-sand", Lilith told him, staring at the floor.

"This is gonna take a lot of explaining, isn't it?", Duncan groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm calling our friends and Headmistress Bloodgood. I'm pretty sure they'll cut you some slack for helping us, but it's time to come clean, ok?"

Within an hour, Grace Bloodgood and most of Duncan's friends and family were there. Lilith told them everything she knew, and begged them all to forgive her. They were all understandably angry and felt betrayed, but given that she had helped, was helping now at great risk to herself, and now believed her uncle was going too far; they were—as Duncan had said—willing to cut her some slack. Although Clawdeen and Cleo both still glared at her.

"I will have to inform the Elder Council, as well as Twyla's father and curator Stheno of everything you have told us", Bloodgood said. "And, for now, I think it would be best if you continued your 'spy mission' for your uncle, passing along mundane information. If you learn more of his plans, let me know, and I will keep the council apprised of your cooperation. If we can gain proof of his crimes against normies and monsters, we can take action and he will be tried for his crimes. And you can be free of his threats and control, Lilith."

"I'm just afraid he'll leave me like **this** ", she moaned tearfully, indicating her succubus form. "I just want to be human again!"

"I will ask the Boogieman if he has any 'normie' sand….", Grace started.

"He doesn't", Lilith said quickly. "Marcus—my uncle's right hand man—stole **all** the human sand there was when he stole the others. Why my uncle needed so many different sands and so much human sand I don't know. According to my uncle, normie sand is the rarest and hardest to collect and it must have taken decades to collect the amount that Marcus stole."

"Is there any way you can….?"

"Not without him noticing", she said. "He keeps meticulous track of everything he has."

"Ms. Bloodgood?", DJ spoke up. "Kenny can help me make a micro-digital spy-cam and mic that Lilith could wear in a piece of jewelry of something. I think we can even rig it to stream to my computer over the web, so I'll have a digital copy for the council."

"Not a bad idea, DJ", she replied. "Lilith, are you willing to do this?"

"All right", Lilith said. "I'll do it. But make it undetectable, ok? He still trusts me, but I don't want to take too many chances."

xxXXxx

Van Hellscream was livid! His own niece, who he'd taken in and raised to be a loyal hunter; had betrayed him and the cause! True, he saw her as little more than a tool to use for his own ends, but how **dare** she disobey his orders! She must have foolishly revealed herself to Jason at some point, damn her teen-age hormones!

Looking back, the signs of her potential treachery were there: the mild admiration of various monsters in her reports, her bouts of reluctance to obey orders, even questioning his plans! And now, proof of her weakness and betrayal! He knew it pained Marcus to tell him and show him the evidence. The boy hadn't told him, but he knew Marcus was lusting for Lilith. He had planned to give Marcus the green light to pursue her when she was of legal age. But now…..

"Who else have you told, Marcus?"

"No one, sir", Marcus said. "Only you and I know."

"We can no longer trust her", he said. "She has been compromised by the enemy. But we will not let on that we are aware of her duplicity, nor is anyone to speak of our plans in her presence from now on. I will deal with her at the proper time in my own way."

"Sir, I …..um….", Marcus stammered. Van Hellscream stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"I've been aware of your attraction to her for some time, Marcus", he told him. "I would have given you my blessing on her 18th birthday. I will still give you the choice after I have punished her, but do not be surprised if you no longer want her afterward."

"W-what will you do to her?", Marcus asked, concerned at the possibility of missing out on such a fine piece of ass.

"I haven't decided yet", he growled through clenched teeth. "But her punishment **will** fit her crime of betrayal."

xxXXxx

"By your command."

Obsidous Blackstar rotated his command chair to look down at Veron.

"Speak."

"We have reached the asteroid belt and have begun mining operations, as you commanded", Veron reported. "They are rich in the metals required to create the alloys needed for our on-board factories, as well as more of the crystalline minerals we need."

"Excellent", Obsidious sneered. "Inform me when our supply holds are are full. Has any new information been gleaned from our target's transmission signals?"

"We have begun to form basic knowledge of the planet's governing bodies, military forces, and social orders", Veron said. "And we have also begun to identify many of the more common monster species."

"Good", the militant Psion smirked. "I want a complete working knowledge of this 'Earth' by the time we arrive. Check the status of the legions of troops and ships we have on board, and begin preparing the factories to mass-produce more. And keep me informed on all fronts."

"By your command."

xxXXxx

Marcus put the word of the new instructions concerning Lilith out to everyone on the organization, as per Van Hellscream's orders. At the same time, almost all of their hunters and agents from around the world were ordered to report to the mansion to prepare for phases 2 and 3 of the master plan. Marcus smiled as he thought of the sheer genius of his boss' plan to completely reverse the progress toward peace and untity between humans and monsters that occurred in recent years. Soon, the monsters would be put in their place, or be exterminated…..either way, mankind was going to regain lordship over the world again!

Marcus had just returned to Van Hellscream's study when the computer on the desk rang an incoming video-call alert. Van Hellscream put down the crystal skull he was examining to answer.

"Dr. Ozborn", he greeted the former MEGTAF scientist. "I trust you have good news for me?"

"The adaptive materials weapons and armor mods are ready", he told the monster hunter. "Incorporating the ectoranium you acquired from Vlad Masters' old lab was tricky, but it's done. I only require access to the Nth metal armor for you and your associates to complete the upgrade process."

"Excellent, Doctor! Marcus will arrive with a few men shortly to bring you and everything you need here to finish your work. How long will it take you once you arrive?"

"If the armor specs you sent me to work from are accurate; about a week, give or take a few days depending on how many sets of armor you need upgraded."

"Excellent!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Well, now both sides know about Lilith, but neither side** ** _knows_** **that the other side knows! What does Van Hellscream have planned next? What and see!**

 **And the invasion draws inexorably closer!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	76. Chapter 75

**_Hey, Everyone! This kind of a filler chapter while I finish working out how I'm gonna write what happens next. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 75

The weekend saw the grand opening of "Big KamehaMayems"; the new beach hangout that was also neutral ground between the normie and monster sides of Gloom Beach. The owners—Mako Tiburon, a shark-woman; and Radley "Chairman of the Board" Emerson, a normie—were both former champion surfers who met and fell in love on the circuit. They'd pooled their winnings and endorsement moneys to build and open the place. It was a place where normies and monsters could come to fang out, get some burgers, pizza, or seafood, and listen or dance to music; be it the juke box, a DJ, or live band.

It was built to resemble a huge islander's hall, with tiki décor. On the outside patio, facing the surf, was a well weathered easy-chair amid the tables and chairs. It was here that Radley could often be found when he wasn't inside. It was his 'lucky chair' that he'd brought with him all over the world when he was in competition, hence his nick-name. In the spirit of unity, the owners had staffed the place with both local normies, and monsters; many of them tikis from the tropical islands.

For the grand opening, Radley and Mako arranged a local surfing contest and car show. This attracted surfers and car&bike lovers of all ages. Duncan, DJ, Joe, and Kenny all brought their bikes, truck, and Jeep along with their ghoulfriends. Gil and Lagoona were there with his woodie, which also carried their surf boards. Heath arrived in his hot-rod with Abby, and Draculaura drove in her Fear-ari convertible with Clawd. Romulus was with Howleen in his Wolfswagon. Even Slo-Mo and Ghoulia showed up in his modified classic hearse, satin-black with red pin-striping. Deuce and Cleo were fashionably late in his Must-Fang convertible.

Gil and Lagoona won the doubles surfing event, and Lagoona took the win in singles as well, much to the cheers of their friends and much of the crowd. A few of the normie surfers grumbled about the unfairness of them being water monsters. Judges Mako and Radley silenced them by pointing out that swimming and breathing underwater made no difference when shooting the curl of a monster wave while standing atop a surfboard.

Many normies showed up as well with restored classics, modifieds of all kinds, and custom-builds. All were impressive and beautiful, and all the builder/restorer/owners were admiring each other's work; both normie and monster. Many were impressed with the eco-friendly designs and modifications to Duncan, Kenny, DJ, and Joe's vehicles; even more so when they learned that there was no sacrifice in speed or power involved.

Things were going well, when the roaring sound of several loud engines approached. Everyone looked to see several bikes, sports cars, hot-rods, and a van approach from the normie side of town.

"Aw no. Not those guys", Kenny groaned when he recognized them, a groan echoed by Chad and Jason.

"What's wrong?", Duncan asked. "Who are they?"

"They call themselves the 'Road Beasts'; what they really are is the New Salem High Motor Club", Kenny said. "Most are students of the auto-shop class, and they all love to tinker like we do. They were impressed when they heard about my Jeep and invited me to join the club….until they found out you were my brother and that I was dating Frankie. I tell ya, those guys and their girls are just as bad as Mike Richardson and Tiffany Kase were."

"Oh lovely", Joe groaned, as the new group all parked together; exiting their cars or dismounting their bikes with their girls, all clad in black leather and jeans.

"Yeah", Chad added with Jin on his arm. "They're also your basic gang of delinquents."

"Something I didn't know when they tried to recruit me", Kenny said.

The Road Beasts walked into the event, led by Nicky McKlutch, their red-headed leader and his girl.

"Monsters", Nicky scoffed. "I thought this parking lot looked creepy!"

"Dude! Chill", Radley smiled coolly as he approached the newcomers, hoping to cut the tension before it could escalate. "This is neutral turf, dudes, and **everyone** is welcome here. Check out all the cool wheels out here, or come inside for some radical food and music."

"*pft!* 'Cool wheels' huh?", Nicky repeated sarcastically. "Everybody knows that the Road Beasts got the coolest wheels around!"

The sliding side-door of the Beasts' 70's custom art-deco van opened and music started to pour out, and the gang members all line up and start snapping their fingers to the music, and Nicky takes the vocal lead.

 _You better run, run, run_

 _Here we come_

 _Revvin' up our engines_

 _Under the sun_

 _Yeah, you're cruisin'_

 _For a bruisin'_

 _(Wow!)_

 _Keepin' it cool_

 _Smooth and steady_

 _Wind-blown hair_

 _Man, things are getting heavy_

 _Yeah, you're cruisin'_

 _For a bruisin'_

 _I got these cool wheels_

 _And an open road_

 _Wrapped in leather_

 _Ready to go!_

 _[Chorus]_

 _Don't stop, stop the music!_

 _We drive fast like a bullet_

 _We do anything we want_

 _Anytime we want_

 _Oh yeah *snap! snap!*_

 _Oh yeah *snap! snap!*_

 _We drive, drive, drive all day!_

 _We're not gonna live any other way_

 _[Verse 2]_

 _Alright_

 _I went to the drive-in_

 _And why did I see?_

 _A hundred little betties_

 _All staring at me!_

 _I was cruisin'_

 _For some lovin'!_

 _I got these cool wheels_

 _And an open road_

 _Just pop that clutch_

 _I'm ready to go!_

 _Come on!_

 _[Chorus]_

 _Don't stop, stop the music_

 _We drive fast like a bullet_

 _We do anything we want_

 _Anytime we want_

 _Oh yeah *snap! snap!*_

 _Oh yeah *snap! snap!*_

 _We just drive, drive, drive all day!_

 _We're not gonna live any other way_

 _Oh no, we're not gonna live_

 _Any other way_

 _[Verse 3]_

 _1, 2, a 1, 2, 3_

 _A who, who, who, who's driving with me?_

 _A gang full of bruisers all cruisin' with me!_

 _We're tearin' up, we're tearing up_

 _We're tearing up the streets!_

 _~Instrumental~_

 _[Chorus]_

 _Don't stop, stop the music_

 _We drive fast like a bullet_

 _We do anything we want_

 _Anytime we want_

 _Oh yeah*snap! snap!*_

 _Oh yeah*snap! snap!*_

 _We just drive, drive, drive all day_

 _We're not gonna live any other way_

 _~Instrumental~_

 _So don't stop, stop the music!_

 _We drive fast like a bullet_

 _We do anything we want_

 _Anytime we want_

 _Oh yeah *snap! snap!*_

 _Oh yeah *snap! snap!*_

 _We just drive, drive, drive all day_

 _We're not gonna live any other way_

 _Oh no, we're not gonna live any other way_

 _No no way!_

 _WOW!_

Nicky walked up, eye-to-eye with Duncan….a contest of wills….neither blinking nor giving an inch. You could cut the tension with a broadsword.

"Nice song", Duncan smirked, making the other boy blink. "And from what I can see even from here, you guys do nice work on your wheels. Kenny wasn't kidding about that."

"He does not lie", Nicky sneered.

"Look, you don't like us, and I don't know you well enough to have an opinion", Duncan said, as Clawdeen stepped up beside him, wrapping her arm around him. "But nobody really wants trouble here today. So what'd'ya say we all just check out each other's wheels and keep in the spirit of what the owners of this awesome new hang-out intended?"

Nicky met his gaze, confident that his gang had his back. He hated monsters, but he had to admit this one had guts and respect. Besides, there were a lot of other humans here with nice wheels…..something they could all appreciate. He chuckled softly.

"Kenny always said you were cool under pressure, Duncan. Yeah, I know who you are", Nicky said, pulling his best girl to his side. "Not that me and my guys couldn't take all you monsters if we wanted to; this ain't the time or place."

"Well, not that we couldn't handle you guys if we had to; I agree", Duncan smirked. "I'd like to see the sound system in that van after I show you my bike."

"Ok, Scaly. You're on."

xxXXxx

"I already know about that new 'neutral ground' place on the beach, Lilith", Van hellscream said when she briefed him that evening. "My man at the City Clerk's office could find no legal reason to deny the permits. Did you learn how the monsters found out about the gremlin invasion?"

In truth, he already knew, but he wanted to see just how duplicitous his niece had become.

"I heard that there were quite a few teen monster couples at the drive-in when the gremlins attacked it", she said. "My guess is that they called others when that happened."

'A plausible conclusion, my dear", he thought to himself. 'But I can see the lie in your eyes.'

"I suppose that is the most likely explaination. Very well, Lilith, you are dismissed."

She nodded and left, inwardly relieved that neither Marcus nor her uncle had noticed her new necklace and pendant. The smooth jewel in the center was a digital camera lense, the setting hid a microphone, and the chain doubled as a wifi antenna. This enabled it to send sound and video over the web in real-time to Kenny and DJ's computers. She was still very conflicted; torn between doing the right thing and her love and loyalty to her uncle.

"Have all our hunters and agents reported in?", Van Hellscream asked once Lilith had left the manor.

"We're still waiting on a few due to travel constraints", Marcus told him. "But everyone should be here in a few days."

"Excellent! Once everyone is here we can begin final preparations for phases 2 and 3 of my plans!"

"Don't forget the 'bonus' I've requested for my services?", Ozborn grinned.

"Of course, Doctor", he sneered. "Your step-son will be delivered to you so you can completely unlock the secrets of his powers, and make our weapons and armor even more powerful; as well as take your revenge."

xxXXxx

As the party at Big KamehaMayhem's continued into the evening, Duncan and Clawdeen decided to take a romantic walk on the beach. They finally sat down and snuggled together in their favorite picnic spot, just looking out over the waves.

"Fenris contacted me through the crystal mirror a few days ago", Clawdeen said. "He's asked me to devote some time this summer with him at the Temple of the Moon to start really learning my role as Alpha. I should, but I don't know if I can handle being apart from you for that long."

"You have responsibilities to your people", Duncan replied warmly. "I understand that. You should do it. I could—I don't know—train with my dad while you're away. After all, I have responsibilities too."

"Are you sure, Hot-Stuff?", she looked lovingly into his emerald eyes. "I mean, it was painful enough being apart just for a week when you went missing through that mirror before I ended up there too."

"Yeah, it was hard on me, too", he admitted. "How about this? We each devote one month with our mentors at the same time, then we have the rest of the summer together?"

"I guess that's a fair balance", she said, then smiled. "As long as we keep in touch the whole time, ok?"

"You got a deal, Beautiful", he grinned, then pulled her in for a deep kiss.

xxXXxx

Van Hellscream grinned maliciously as he looked over his supplies of Boogie-sands. In hind-sight, this plan was more reliable and practical than his original plan for phase 2, especially since Dr, Moreau—genius in genetics that he is— **still** could not unlock monster dna. The good doctor's work could still yield useful fruit someday, but not in time for his current plans.

"We'll see what everyone thinks of 'coexistence' when an army of 'monsters' descends upon the human side of town; wreaking havoc before 'disappearing' back into their side of town!", he laughed to himself. "City Hall will practically **beg** me and my 'newly arrived' hunters to force the monsters out of New Salem as a whole or exterminate them outright! Then we march on Monster High and their whole community!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: The song I used this chapter is a slightly modified version on the same song from Disney's "Teen Beach Movie". "Big KamehaMayhem's" was also inspired by a similar location, "Big Mama's", also from "Teen Beach Movie".**

 **Can anyone guess what Van Hellscream's plan is? LOL**

 **Long reviews and suggestions are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	77. Chapter 76

**_Hey, Everyone! Major stuff this chapter so hang on for a fun ride! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 76

(Two months ago)

Boodika had been observing and learning about Desdemona's realm. It was a fascinating world. A curious mix of medieval/renaissance society combined with conveniences like plumbing and primitive electricity and even gas-light technology in the larger cities. A thriving human population coexisting with tribes, clans, or individual female monsters everywhere.

But the more she observed, the more apparent a particular problem became: **all** the monsters, young and old, were **_female_**.

"Desdemona", she called out through her crystal. "May we speak?"

As the vision in the crystal swirled, Boodika transferred the image to her mirror. The swirling smoke cleared to reveal the ravishingly beautiful Demon Queen.

"Of course, my friend", Desdemona replied. "It is the least I can do for a new friend and fellow seeker of knowledge. I must tell you, I find your realm **_fascinating!_** The sophistication of what you call 'technology' is impressive! If I did not know better, I would think it was magick. I had never thought such a level of civilization was possible. And to see peaceful male monsters does my heart good."

"Yes, that's what I wanted to talk to you about", the elder witch said. "When you transformed all your realm's monsters into beautiful females, I understand it was for the purpose of creating a relatively peaceful coexistence based on love. A world in which monsters sought out human mates. But there was a flaw in what you did, wasn't there?"

Desdemona sighed sadly, looking down and away for a moment. "You have learned my secret shame. In my zeal to end the bloodshed and replace it with love, I have doomed both humans and monsters to eventual extinction in my realm. And the powers I gave to my lilim daughters for the purpose of furthering what I had done only compounded my error."

"Your female monsters can only give birth to more female monsters, correct?"

"Yes. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late", she said sadly. "The magick was already done and could not be reversed."

Boodika thought on what Desdemona had said, and the noble purpose and good intentions the Demon Queen had. Attempting to reverse it to undo a single flaw could have disasterous consequences; ranging from a return of the bloody conflicts, to possibly rending the magickal fabric of the entire realm apart! A magickal scalpel was required, not a battle-ax.

"I think I can help you, Desdemona", Boodika said. "A possible way fix the flaw while keeping the main intent and results of your spell intact."

"Indeed?", the Demona Queen replied with hope. "What do you have in mind?"

"It could be a rather delicate and complicated spell to perform, so you will need my magickal help…. if you will grant my magick access to your realm to help you?"

"Of course! But what will this spell do?"

"The intent is to give your monsters the ability to give birth to monster girls….. **and** human boys", Boodika said. "Thus preserving the spirit of your original spell's intent, while allowing the perpetuation of both sides."

"Of course! How did I not think of that myself?", Desdemona chided herself, then looked at her friend with admiration. "You are truly wise for one so young, Boodika Le Fey! If this spell of ours works, I will owe you a great debt!"

Boodika chuckled somewhat at being called 'young'. But considering Desdemona was likely immortal, it was no surprise that she considered the elder witch young, despite her years.

"It may not work on certain monsters, given their nature; such as echidnas", Boodika said. "But if it works for the vast majority of the monsters of your realm, it will solve your problem. Let's begin preparations, my friend."

xxXXxx

(The present, Friday night)

Lilith **knew** something big was brewing. Over the past week, almost all of her uncle's hunters and agents had arrived from around the world. However, her uncle seemed to be keeping her in the dark on the details, which was strange.

The last of them had arrived earlier today. After making her regular report, she hung around on the pretense of seeing old friends and wanting to relax in her own room for a little while. However, even her closest friends among the hunters and agents were rather tight-lipped and aloof with her. She blamed it on her transformation, certain things would return to normal when she did.

After having dinner, Lilith thought it best to return to the home of her cover-ID. She settled in to watch her usual sit-coms and sci-fi shows. It was getting late, when a news report interrupted her show!

"—Earlier this evening, a large number of various species of monsters suddenly appeared downtown causing property damage with the potential cost in excess of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars! After helping to stop two previous invasions, such a dramatic turnabout has this reporter baffled! And as none of the monsters would comment before they disappeared toward their side of town, their reasons—if any—remain unknown at this time."

The report showed video of the vandalism in progress, the monsters laughing and yelling, "Humans get out!" and other epithets. Lilith was dumbfounded. The monsters wouldn't do this! Just then, her uncle entered the front door carrying a small bag.

"Ah! Good! It's made the late news!", he sneered.

"Uncle! How is this possible?", she queried, still in shock.

"You'll see shortly my dear", he grinned. "Just after you learn why I specifically chose this house for your cover 'home' on the monster side of town. Come, Lilith."

He then led the way to the backyard. The house was backed up to the woods, and had a stream with a small bridge cutting through it. After a short wait, she began to hear voices approaching from the woods, laughing and carousing. Monsters of various kinds began to emerge from the woods, crossing the bridge into the yard. Most were male, with a few females.

"Well done, everyone! It's already made the news!", he told the monsters, instigating a cheer from them. "Now, when we march on the monsters, the nay-sayers will be silent or drowned out by those baying for blood! Now, let's get you all back to normal."

He reached into the bag, and pulled out a large jar of sand. With wide sweeps with hand-fulls of sand, Van Hellscream began turning the 'monsters' back into the men and women that follow him as hunters and agents.

'At last!', Lilith smiled in relief, following close behind him as he finished and stepped onto the bridge. 'He's going to make me human again!'

"Lilith, my dear, beloved niece", he smiled at her. "The information you gathered for us over all these months—at such great personal sacrifice—has served us well. And now, you shall receive the reward you so richly deserve."

He held the jar of sand before her smiling, hopeful eyes; the last bit of the only substance in the world that could make her human once again. Van Hellscream looked into the eyes of his niece…..and smirked as he watched that hope twist into horror when he tossed the jar aside and into the stream….lost and the magick washed away forever!

"NNNOOOOO!", Lilith screamed tearfully as she watched her only hope of being human again splash into the water. " _ **Why**_ , Uncle?!"

"Do **not** take me for a **_fool_** , my dear!", he sneered, as Marcus seized and restrained her from behind. Van Hellscream then took her phone and accessed her text messages, finding the incriminating thread with Jason. "I am aware of your betrayal, Lilith! Marcus found your monster-loving boyfriend and his monster-loving friends in the traffic-cam footage from the night of the gremlin attack! They could **only** have learned what was going to happen is from **you**! I must admit, their plan was very clever; making the fast response look like coincidence. However, you underestimated how thorough Marcus is."

"U-Uncle Van, p-please! I…."

 ** _"Silence!",_** he snapped, causing her to flinch in fear. "Since you seem to admire them so much, Lilith, **you can spend the** ** _rest_** **of your life as a** ** _filthy monster!_** Get her out of my sight, Marcus!"

xxXXxx

" **BOYS!** ", Margaret yelled, her voice echoing through the whole house and even into Joe's room upstairs of the garage. "You need to see this! **HURRY!** "

It was early for a Saturday, but the urgency in her voice woke them immediately. Duncan, Kenny, DJ, and Joe all rushed to the living room to see what had her so upset.

"Mom! What's wrong?", Duncan asked urgently. She pointed at the TV, which was showing a report of monster aggression and vandalism against the humans of New Salem!

"What?!", Joe exclaimed.

"No way!", Kenny could not believe what he was seeing.

"It's a frame up!", DJ declared.

"It's gotta be!", Duncan agreed.

"No! I'm **_telling_** you it **_is_** a frame up!", DJ clarified. "I've lived here long enough to have seen and recognize **all** the monsters in town! Not their names, but their **faces**! **And I don't recognize** ** _any_** **of those monsters!** "

"You're sure?", Kenny asked.

"Absolutely!"

"But then what….?", Joe started to ask.

"Van Hellscream!", Duncan snarled. "This has his stink all over it!"

"Lilith!", Kenny suddenly realized.

"Holy….! Quick! Let's check the footage from her necklace-cam!", DJ shouted as he ran back up the stairs, followed by the others. He and Kenny 'woke up' their computers and opened the most recent video/sound files. And they saw it all. They saw Van Hellscream arrive at Lilith's 'home'. They saw the 'monsters' emerge from the woods. They heard the master hunter's plan. They saw him turn the 'monsters' into normies. And they saw what he did and said to Lilith. The video cut off after it showed her perspective of being shoved into a secure room in the Van Hellscream mansion. Nothing since. The room holding her must be shielded.

"Mom, call Headmistress Bloodgood, the monster authorities, even MEGTAF if you have to!", Duncan growled as he hurriedly got dressed. "Guys! We gotta start spreading the word to everyone! If that bastard is gonna march against us, we know just where he'll go first!"

"Monster High!", Kenny breathed, sounding very worried. "But if he takes the most direct route, they'll reach the Stein's clinic first!"

"No, Kenny", Duncan said, trying to reassure him. "His first focus will be to burn down Monster High! It's the **center** of the monster community here, and his plans have been foiled there before."

The four boys and Margaret all started making calls, and those they called made more calls, and then more calls, etc. If Van Hellscream was expecting the monsters to be caught unaware and surrender without a fight, he was **_sorely_** mistaken!

xxXXxx

('Prepping for battle' montage)

Van Hellscream's followers donning their armor and checking their weapons.

Deuce Gorgon checking his shades and his father's sword with his mother.

Monsters of all ages gathering at Monster High.

Van Hellscream himself checking the armor he's wearing.

Frankie and her father sparking up their hands.

Van Hellscream sheathing the Daggers of Theseus behind his lower-back.

Clawdeen and the werewolves checking their claws.

Van Hellscream strapping the Bow and Arrows of Bellarophon to his back.

Abby and Heath powering up their elemental gifts.

Van Hellscream putting on the Gauntlets of Hercules.

Dani and the ghost students and a few parents making ready.

Van Hellscream taking up the Spear of Atalanta.

Duncan going full kaiju, including his wings, next to Clawdeen.

"Today we take the first step to taking back our world!", Van Hellscream told his cheering followers. "Today we raze Monster High to the ground!"

Jason answers the knock on his door. "Let's go rescue Lilith", Joe tells him.

"Mount up!", Van Hellscream orders, and they all climbed into vans and suv's.

Margaret and Kenny heading out somewhere, a flashdrive in Kenny's hand.

xxXXxx

"I loved you, Lilith", Marcus told her in her cell. "I was gonna ask you to be mine when you turned 18, and your uncle gave me his blessing to do that. He was gonna send us on a special mission together as a gift. But now…."

"Please, Marcus!", Lilith pleaded. "If you ever really cared for me, just let me go! Tell my uncle I tricked you or overpowered you or something! Just please let me go!"

"Tricked me?! Overpowered me?!", he barked, making her flinch. "Your beauty overpowered me a long time ago! And you tricked us all! I thought you believed in our cause."

"I did!", she cried. "But I learned the monsters aren't the evil invading force we thought they were! Most just want to live in peace!"

"Spare me!", Marcus growled.

"My uncle's recent plans were **insane** , Marcus!", she cried. "You can't tell me you don't think it's wrong to harm humans just for the sake of instigating fear and hate!"

"It **is** wrong, but sacrifices **must** be made in order to turn the tide!", he growled.

"You said you loved me, Marcus", she said. "If that's true, then please let me go."

"I **did** love you", he said chillingly. "When you were a human loyal to the cause. But now….you're not only a traitor, but a filthy monster, too. You mean **nothing** to me now. Then again….", he grinned wickedly, his member stiffening in his pants as he looked lustily at her curvaceous body.

"It might be worth the erotic thrill to bang that exotic body of yours just once before your uncle decides what to do with you", Marcus said in a husky carnal tone, causing her face to twist with horror. "And the boss **did** say I could do whatever I want."

Lilith backed away from him in fear as he stepped closer until she was against the wall. He reached her and grabbed her top…..when the perimeter alarm sounded! He grunted with frustration as he dashed out of her cell and secured it. Then he ran to the closest security screen. He saw a boy, apparently made of stone, smashing the electrified gates open! He ran through them followed by Jason on his trike!

"Dammit!", he growled. He was alone in the manor with his prisoner. He activated the security lock-down, sealing all the doors and windows.

xxXXxx

Van Hellscream's convoy drove through the gates to Monster High, only to be surprised to find a large number students, teachers and parents waiting for them! At the heart of the crowd was Headmistress Bloodgood riding Nightmare. Duncan, Clawdeen, and their friends were front and center of the vanguard.

Van Hellscream had expected **some** resistance, but not nearly so many! He had expected most of the monster community to be caught off-guard, unable to respond before the school was a pile of smoking rubble! Very well. If it's a **fight** the monsters want! He and his armored battalion exited their vehicles.

DJ's scanners analyzed the men and women before them, and he gasped slightly in shock.

"Their guns are all loaded with silver bullets, but that's not the scariest thing", he said to Duncan. "Their armor….the heaviest pieces are made of a metal that **only** MEGTAF should have! And the secondary layer is made of adaptive materials!"

"We'll ask the 'how's and 'why's later. For now", Duncan said softly. "Abby? Heath? The three of us have to take out their guns. DJ, will their armor protect them from ice and flames?

"Yes, no problem there."

"Ok. Abby, you freeze-break as many guns as you can target", he told the yeti. "Heath? You and I will then envelope the whole battalion with enough flames to melt the silver in their guns. Wait for my signal."

Van Hellscream stepped to the front of his forces, his ancient weapons contrasting sharply with his armor and the weapons of his followers.

"You monsters are no longer welcome in New Salem!", he yelled. "Pack up and leave now or we will destroy all of you and your community!"

"Monster High has stood here for two centuries, Mr. Van Hellscream! Yes, I know it's you behind that helmet", Bloodgood retorted. "Our community peacefully grew around the school over the course of that time. It is **_you_** and your followers who are the trespassers here! Leave peacefully now or surrender and answer for your crimes against all of monsterkind!"

"Crimes against….?! **_YOU'RE MONSTERS!_** You are all **abominations** against nature and threats to mankind! There is no such thing as **crimes** against **your** kind! Ready! Aim!...", he ordered.

 _"_ _ **Now!**_ _"_ , Duncan yelled. Abby immediately targeted and froze all the guns of the front row of hunters, causing them to break apart in the hands that held them! A split-second later Duncan and Heath bathed the entire battalion in flames. When they stopped, more guns were raised at the monsters and the triggers pulled…..nothing. Then the magazines began to explode as the heat reached the gun-powder. They all dropped their now useless guns.

"Did you think guns were all we brought?!", Van Hellscream roared. "Get them!"

"Stand your ground!", Duncan roared, subtly looking up toward the invisible Spectra. She and Dani were invisibly videoing the whole thing, to have proof that the monster community were only defending themselves from those trying to harm them. When Van Hellscream's forces reached them, the brawl began!

xxXXxx

Jason let Joe take point to smash through any obstacles as they stormed the manor. Joe followed the path shown on the last of Lilith's video footage. After punching down the front door, they went through the first floor and down to the basement.

*CH-CHAK!* Marcus stepped into view, holding a heavy-gauge, pump-action shot-gun.

"You two are trespassing", he sneered. "I can legally shoot you dead if I want. Get out now!"

Joe reached into a pouch on his belt, and changed into a metal.

"I just turned into titanium, so what now, smart-guy?"

"The shells in this gun are loaded with diamonds", Marcus smirked. "Even if they don't kill you, I'm betting they will hurt….a lot. So last warning!"

"We're not leaving without Lilith!", Jason snarled. "Where is she?!"

"In there", Marcus jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the locked, steel door behind him. "And that's where she's gonna stay, you punk! She was gonna be **mine** one day! When she turned 18, her uncle was going to send her on a long-term mission around the world with **me** so I could win her heart. But now that's all over because of her weakness for **you**! Now she's good for nothing more than an exotic lay! Get out of here now or it will be my **pleasure** to kill you!"

"You bastard! She would **never** have loved you!", Jason spit. "We were already talking about getting married after we graduate! I'll still marry her! No matter what she looks like!"

"Jason, be ready to charge him", Joe whispered to him. "You'll know when."

"Oh, I think you'll change your mind", Marcus said smugly. "She's stuck the way she is now; a **monster!** She'll **never** be human again!"

"I already know, and I don't care!", Jason yelled.

"You still love her?! Knowing she'll never be human again?!", Marcus was incredulous. "You'd still marry her and have….. _ **children**_ with her like that?! Disgusting!"

"It hasn't stopped me from making love to her yet, just like before", Jason smirked.

"Y-you **had** her?! When she was still **human**?!", Marcus screeched, the rage and jealousy blinding him. At that moment, Joe turned into a magnet, yanking every iron-based metal object in range toward him; including the shot-gun Marcus was holding.

"No!", he yelled as it was yanked from his grasp. Distracted, he didn't see Jason's fist coming.

Lilith waited anxiously, certain that Marcus would return any moment and…..she shuddered at the thought. She looked up fearfully as the door opened.

"Lilith?", a comforting voice called, making her heart leap! Jason stepped in. "Are you ok?"

"Jason!", she cried in tearful relief, running into the arms of her boyfriend. "Thank goodness you came when you did! Marcus…..he was going to…..to…" She sobbed into his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Sweetie", he told her. "He'll never touch you again."

"Let's get out of here", Joe said, turning back into titanium, just in case. "Your uncle and his forces have marched on Monster High."

"Wait! I need to get something from his study!", she said, running ahead of them.

"I'll tie this jerk up for the authorities", Joe said.

xxXXxx

Johnny Spirit tried to overshadow the hunter in front of him, but he was being blocked somehow. Even his punches simply stopped dead against the guy's armor.

"Yo! Deez guys' armor is ghost proof!", he yelled out. Dani gasped. She thought Vlad and the Fenton's were the only ones with access to ectoranium! She wanted to help, but Duncan had given her express orders to stay invisible and video from a safe distance with Spectra….orders seconded by Headmistress Bloodgood.

"All ghosts break off and switch to supporting anyone you can!", Duncan yelled as he threw one hunter into several others.

The melee was a stalemate thus far, as the hunters armor and weapons adapted to their monster opponents. Extended gauntlet blades turned to wood, silver, steel, or ectoranium according to the need of the hunter. Injuries on both sides were mounting, but thankfully no deaths…..yet.

Van Hellscream was about to kill the werecat at his feet when he saw Deuce fighting off the Remington brothers; Sean and Dan, two of his best hunters, using the Sword of Perseus! His rage overcame him as he ignored the werecat, he charged toward the young gorgon.

"YOU!", he screamed, hurling the Spear of Atalanta at him. Deuce managed to knock the hunters he was fighting aside just in time to see the spear. He dodged, the spear slashing through the open flap of his vest to impale deeply into the wall behind him! The he saw Van Hellscream charging him with a pair of daggers. He blocked with the sword, raising sparks.

"Why couldn't I kill you with that sword?!", he demanded as he bore down on Deuce with his enhanced strength. "How are you able to use it?! WHY DID THE SWORD OF PERSEUS CHOOSE **_YOU?!_** **A MONSTER?!** "

"Dude! I didn't know myself until I got home and showed the sword to my mom!", he grunted, twisting away to free himself. "That's when she finally told me…. **Perseus was my dad!** "

 ** _"Impossible!"_** , the hunter screamed, slashing at him. "How….WHY would a celebrated monster slayer have a child with a MONSTER?!"

"You wouldn't understand, dude!", Deuce replied, blocking with the sword. But as he locked up one dagger, Van Hellscream slashed with the other, opening a painful but shallow cut across the gorgon's chest. The hunter the kicked him, sending him flying into the wall. Van Hellscream smirked as he approached to finish Deuce off and reclaim the sword.

 ** _"VAN HELLSCREAM!"_**

He turned just as Duncan slammed into him, making him drop the Daggers of Theseus. They tumbled briefly until Duncan hurled him bodily into the stone wall of the school. The hunter snarled, glaring at the Prince of the Kaijus as he stood up. Van Hellscream might not know kaijus weaknesses, but he had weapons forged by Hephaestus! He drew the Bow of Bellarophon and began firing arrows at the boy!

Duncan fought his instinct to simply dodge, as he didn't want anyone behind him to get hit. He instead began slapping the arrows out of the air before they hit him as he closed on Van Hellscream. Out of arrows, the hunter pulled the nearby Spear of Atalanta from the wall to thrust at the boy. Duncan sidestepped and grabbed the end of the spear. He the used the spear as a lever to swing Van Hellscream over his head and slam him into the ground!

"I should've realized you would be very strong, as the son of Belloc", he hissed after he shook off the impact. Then he clinked the bracer-gauntlets he was wearing together. "But let's see how you stand up to the strength of Hercules!"

Van Hellscream slammed into Duncan, his gauntleted hands and Duncan's fully kaiju claws gripping each other in a test of strength.

"You can't win, boy!", the hunter taunted as he pushed Duncan to his knees. "Hercules was the mightiest hero who ever lived! And his gauntlets grant his strength to any human who wears them! You. Will. Fall! And then all your monster friends will follow!"

Duncan growled will anger and effort, tapping deeper into his kaiju blood…and slowly pushed his way back to his feet. Van Hellscream looked shocked and pushed the limits of his enhanced strength, but the boy held him at a stalemate. Duncan trembled with the effort. He had never encountered this kind of strength from an opponent his size before! Those gauntlets made Van Hellscream far stronger than Abby or Remus Darkclaw! But if he failed, his friends were doomed…..Clawdeen could be killed! His inner-fire flared, and his strength surged….driving the monster hunter to his knees! With a roar, Duncan yanked the Gauntlets of Hercules off of Van Hellscream's arms and tossed them aside! He then put the shocked hunter in a headlock.

"Order your forces to stand down!", Duncan snarled. "Now! Or I'll pop your top like a wine bottle!"

"S-STAND DOWN! ALL HUNTERS, STAND DOWN!", Van Hellscream ordered fearfully. They all paused in surprise, but did as ordered and surrendered. They were stripped of their weapons and armor, leaving them in their regular clothes as the De Nile family 'cuffed' them all with wrappings.

Just then, the Monster authorities arrived from one direction, Margaret's SUV, and two normie police cruisers arrive escorting the Mayor's limo from another. Van Hellscrean grinned. The Mayor would get him and his hunters out of this! After all, she had authorized this raid! She got out and approached, flanked by the police chief, Detective Murphy, and the uniformed officers. Margaret and Kenny followed.

"Madam Mayor", he called in a smug tone. "As you can see, the monsters are resisting your duly deputized enforcers of your executive order demanding that they leave your commun…."

"Shut up, Van Hellscream!", the attractive middle-aged African-American woman barked. "I am countermanding that order in light of new evidence showing that **you** are responsible for at least two of the recent attacks on the human side of town! And you are going to pay for those crimes! To sink so low, and commit such crimes in the name of your cause? You are not worthy of your forefather's legacy!"

"Madam Mayor", Headmistress Bloodgood called out as she approached, flanked by Ramses De Nile, Clawdeen, and Duncan. "We have **all** suffered from his atrocities. Monsterkind more than any other. Your human laws cannot see true justice done for all of his crimes."

"What do you propose, Ms. Bloodgood?", the Mayor asked.

"Let him and his followers stand trial before the Monster Council of Royals", Bloodgood replied.

"Indeed. There, _ **we**_ will mete out justice for **_all_** his victims", Ramses added, with Clawdeen and Duncan nodding in agreement.

"I will _**NOT**_ be judged by these... **abominations!** ", Van Hellscream yelled.

"Very well", the Mayor said. "Officers! Assist the Monster Authorities in detaining these criminals!"

"It would be a pleasure, your Honor", Detective Murphy smirked.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Just to clarify: the Gauntlets of Hercules** ** _did_** **give Van Hellscream the legendary strength of the demi-god** ** _before_** **his ascent to full god-hood. However, Hercules did not only rely on his strength, often facing giants or monsters with strength that exceeded his own. He did also use guile and cunning when the situation required it. And I hate to burst the bubbles of mythology fans, but kaiju strength is greater than that of Hercules, especially that of the kaijus Royal bloodline!**

 **Next chapter; the Trial of Van Hellscream and all his hunters!**

 **As always, long reviews and suggestions are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	78. Chapter 77: The Trial of Van Hellscream

**_Hey, Everyone! Here it is! The monster trial of the century! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 77: The Trial of Van Hellscream

Van Hellscream was pacing again. It had been a week since the so-called Monster Authorities had arrested him and his hunters and agents. Shortly after they arrived, Marcus was brought there as well. Only Ozborn was missing, as MEGTAF had taken him into custody. They were held under guard in a large chamber deep in the catacombs while preparations were made for the 'trial'. How **_dare_** these abominations dare to think they can judge **him!** It was laughable! A travesty! A mockery of justice!

A platoon of werewolf guards arrived and ushered them back to the surface and into waiting vehicles. They were driven to the docks, and led aboard a ship which took them to a small, uninhabited island a few miles off the coast. They were then led inward, up to a high bluff. There was an old abandoned Spanish fort with a tower that had once looked out to the horizon in all directions. The gates were opened for them to enter. The courtyard—no pun intended—had galleries along the walls on both sides, all full of monster civilians. A wave of angry grumbles and murmurs rippled through the crowd as Van Hellscream and his followers were led in. They walked up to a newly built rail across the mid-point of the courtyard with a gate in the center. A little past that was a pulpet which faced the far side. The guards motioned for Van Hellscream to step to the pulpet.

Facing him, along the far wall, the gathered Monster Council of Royals sat behind an oversized judge's bench; Ramses De Nile, Ryu-Chi, Elizzabat Stoker, Monkey King, Granita, Rat King, Danny Phantom, and Clawdeen Wolf. Behind the seated Royals, visible through a half-crumbled wall, was Belloc, King of the Kaijus; as he stood on the beach under the cliffside of the bluff.

"Van Hellscream", Ramses called out for all to hear. "You and your hunters stand accused of multiple crimes against monsterkind. We have a monster lawyer willing to represent you, if you wish?"

"I need no help from your kind", the master hunter sneered.

"Very well", Ramses replied. "Do you have anything to say before we begin these proceedings?"

"I and my followers have done **nothing** wrong!", Van Hellscream barked. "Everything we have done was in the name of our cause; protecting mankind from you monsters or waking them up to the threat you represent! This planet is **our** world, **not** yours! We do not recognize your authority to judge **us!** "

"Your statement is noted for the record", Rat King said. "You may begin, madam procecutor."

The vampire woman made her opening statement, then called Curator Stheno to the stand. Medusa's sister gorgon slithered forward, and relayed the information about the theft of artifacts from her museum, and identified them in evidence, including the Sword of Perseus, which Deuce had made available to the court. Van Hellscream was then given the chance to question Stheno.

"If these artifacts were the weapons of legendary monster slayers, **why** were they in a **monster** museum rather than a human one?" he asked sharply, with an edge of outrage.

"Objection!", the prosecutor barked. "Relevance?"

"I would say that in this case the origins of the items is **_very_** relevant!", he sneered. "There is a difference between theft and **liberation**!"

The Royals conferred briefly.

"We will allow the question", Ramses said. "But mind your tone with this court, Van Hellscream. Please answer the question, Madam Curator?"

"They were all discovered by **our** archeological teams over the course of several years", she replied. "As such, our museum put them on display to the public for all to see; monster and normie."

"Like trophies taken taken by spiteful children", he sneered.

" **Objection!** "

"Nothing further", Van Hellscream said dismissively, as if he made his point.

The next to be called was Gangrel Gevaudan, a werewolf. He testified as the lead volunteer investigator sent to help in the museum theft case, and discovered that the thief was a normie from his scent. That, along with other clues led them to a known smuggler who had confessed to getting the items out of the country, but did not know the thief nor the party receiving the shipment by name.

"Is the human scent you detected there present in this court?", the prosecutor asked. Gangrel sniffed deeply.

"Yes."

"Will you please find and identify the source?"

"Objection!", Van Hellscream yelled.

" **OVER-RULED!** ", Belloc rumbled, glaring at the human with a growl.

Gangrel stepped down off the stand and followed his nose toward the crowd of Van Hellscream's followers. He stopped when he reached Marcus, who was standing directly behind his boss, looking defiant.

"It's him", Gangrel said, pointing to him.

"Let the record show that the witness has identified Marcus Greenwood, well-known to be Van Hellscream's right-hand man, as the thief."

Van Hellscream had no questions, so the case moved on.

Deuce Gorgon was called next. He told the story of what happened the night Moanica and her Zomboys attacked the normies, from the moment he saw the 'guys in armor' to his mother's confession, with special emphasis on when Van Hellscream tried to kill him with the sword.

One by one, monsters from all over the world testified to the heinous actions of Van Hellscream or his hunters, each more damning than the last, including Headmistress Bloodgood. Duncan testified to learning about Lilith and everything he knew leading up to the battle at Monster High that led to the hunters' capture. At times, Van Hellscream would cross-examine a witness, usually with the intent to slant the events to being righteous for his cause. Finally, the prosecutor called her star witness.

"I call **Lilith Van Hellscream** to the stand."

"Objection!", her uncle yelled. "As her legal guardian and uncle by blood, I exercise my right to forbid her testimony!"

"Over-ruled", Danny Phantom smirked. "My human parents performed a DNA test, which showed that in her current form she is a succubus right down to the genetic level, and therefore technically no longer related to you by blood."

Van Hellscream scoffed in anger. Lilith took the stand dejectedly, her purse hanging from her shoulder.

"Ms. Van Hellscream", the prosecutor said compassionately. "I understand this is difficult for you. At any point if you need a moment to compose yourself, please let us know."

"Thank you", she said.

"Please, tell the court everything you know, in your own words?"

She told her story. Her uncle taking her in after her parents died. Being trained by him, her actions at Monster High two years ago. Marcus bringing the stolen Boogie-sands to her uncle, the arrival of the crate containing the stolen ancient weapons. Turning her into a monster and sending her to spy on Monster High and the monster community. The way her uncle blatantly risked lives by delaying taking action against Moanica in hopes of instigating fear and hate against the monsters. Then again with his plan to use the gremlins, and how he had some of them genetically modified to be even more dangerous. Then she provided the court with a digital copy of everything her necklace-cam recorded, including Marcus almost raping her. All the while, her uncle glared venomous daggers at her for her betrayal.

"Lilith, do you have knowledge of any other crimes your uncle may have committed that has not been revealed in this court today?"

"Yes", she said, and took a deep breath. "Uncle Van personally hunted down and killed the vampire Radu and his pregnant dark fairy wife."

Draculaura and Elizzabat both gasped as a ripple of angry murmurs went through the crowd. Dracula roared in rage and had to be restrained, lest he slaughter his brother's killer right there in the court.

"Objection! You have no proof, my dear niece!"

"I have the proof of that and much more **right** ** _here_** , Uncle!", she screamed, pulling a familiar leather-bound book from her purse and tossing it to the ground in the center of the court. "Written in your own hand!"

"NO!", he roared as the prosecutor picked up his memoirs. She skimmed the pages, and passed it to the Royals, who looked it over carefully. They then deliberated over the evidence and testimony for some time.

"Van Hellscream", Ryu-Chi, the Dragon Emperor, said. "We find you and your hunters guilty of all charges, including the murders of many innocent monsters; including the vampire Radu, his wife, and their unborn child. This court is in recess while we deliberate sentencing."

The civilians and prisoners were led out so the Monster Council of Royals could confer privately. Only Boodika Le Fey remained behind, should they require her council.

"I would be **more** than happy to reduce Van Hellscream and all his followers to **ash!** ", Belloc growled. "It would take but a single breath and be done with it!"

"I agree with Belloc", Ramses stated. "They should all die for what they have done."

"But not all of them are killers", Clawdeen said.

"We can't execute **any** of them", Danny said. "If we did, we would only be proving ourselves to be the bloodthirty monsters he claims we are."

"Not to mention, making them martyrs to his cause", Elizzabat added.

"You speak wisely, young ones", Ryu-Chi smiled.

"Then what?", Rat King asked. "Imprison them?"

"My people could create an underground prison for them in a short amount of time", Granita offered.

"Ook! Ook! But what if they escape?", Monkey king pointed out. "We'd be back where we started."

"We can't take **_any_** chance of them doing more harm!", Belloc urged.

"Your Majesties? If I may?"

"Of course, Boodika", Ramses said warmly. "Your wise council is always welcome."

"I may have a solution", the elder witch said. "If I could have a moment to confer with a friend?"

"Proceed", Belloc told her. Boodika smiled as she conjured up her crystal ball.

"Desdemona? May I have a word?"

xxXXxx

The court had been recessed for a few hours. Van Hellscream had no doubt that the monsters would sentence them to death, and smiled grimly at knowing that it would make them martyrs; giving rise to new hunters and possibly swaying public opinion against the monsters.

A werewolf guard came out and informed everyone that the Royals were ready. The civilians filed in first, followed a few minutes later by Van Hellscream and his followers. The master hunter was puzzled to see a large, ornate mirror hanging on the front of the Royals' bench. He took his place at the pulpet again.

"Van Hellscream, you and your followers have been found guilty of many heinous crimes against monsterkind", Rat King started. "Do you have anything to say before we pronounce sentence?"

"You monsters have no right to judge any human being!", Van hellscream said venomously. "You are all abominations against nature and threats to humanity! Go ahead! Kill us! Devour us like the monsters you are! Mankind will one day rise up against you in our names!"

"No, Van Hellscream, you will not **die** for your crimes", Belloc chuckled deeply, sending a chill down the hunter's spine.

"We are not the evil, bloodthirsty savages you take us for", Elizzabat said. "Nor will we make martys of you and the others."

"We, the Monster Council of Royals, sentence you to exile in another realm", Ryu-Chi stated calmly.

"A realm devoid of all but the simplest technology", Danny smirked.

"A realm which has fully accepted co-existence between the normies and monsters", Clawdeen smiled.

"There, each of you must decide; you can settle down to a peaceful new existence, or not", Ramses added. "It is up to you."

"Ook! Ook! You are now each being given a pouch full of gems and semi-precious stones", Monkey King said, as guards handed said pouches to the prisoners.

"Trade or spend them wisely", Granita told them. "For that is **all** you will take with you besides the clothes on your backs now."

"NO! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!", Van Hellscream shouted, infuriated that they were even robbing him of martyrdom.

 ** _"SILENCE!",_** Belloc roared, shaking the walls of the old fort.

"Ms. Le Fey, if you will please open the portal so sentence can be carried out?", Elizzabat asked the elder witch.

Boodika stepped forward in front of the mirror, chanting the gateway spell, and gestured with her wand. The image in the mirror turned into a swirl of sparkling magick, showing an open field with a small town in the distance.

"Van Hellscream, as the leader of your people, you will go first", Ryu-Chi stated as Boodika stepped aside.

Setting his jaw, he glared at the Royals. He'd been outplayed. They had beaten him in every way. As he stepped through the mirror-portal, he silently swore that he would find some way for him to lead them back home. The others followed behind him with mixed emotions. The portal closed after the last one entered.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Van Hellscream and his followers are gone and will not return, at least not in** ** _this_** **realm. For those who don't know or haven't figured it out, the realm they were exiled to is a variation of the "Monster Girl Encyclopedia" realm(check out their wiki!). I will be writing a rated 'M' work to follow their stories in that realm soon.**

 **Anyone who finds the Easter Egg in this chapter can ask a spoiler question in a PM!**

 **I'm coming up on the final arc of this first installment of this trilogy; the invasion is coming soon! So any suggestions will now have to wait for the first sequel. However, long reviews and questions are still welcome as always! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	79. Chapter 78

**_Hey, Everyone! I am sorry this short chapter took so long, but with the final story-arc here, I find myself pouring more thought into the story. A little fluff and filler this time. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 78

Astronova was both happy and nervous. She and Hoo-Dude Voodoo had been hanging out quite a bit lately, and just today the charming living voodoo doll nervously asked her to be his date for the Spring Fling. She accepted without even thinking, which **now** had her thinking; he was a sweet boy, but did she **like** him like him? Why had she accepted so quickly? Was this what her mother felt the first time her father asked her to accompany him to view the Singing Stone Spires of their homeworld? Her ghoulfriends had been thrilled to hear the news, and offered to help her prepare. Even her adopted mother, Grace Bloodgood, had been supportive; giving her blessing with a knowing smile.

xxXXxx

"By your command."

Obsidious Blackstar rotated his command chair to look down at Veron.

"Speak."

"The asteroids have yielded sufficient quantities of raw ores that our foundries have been able to refine enough metals and alloys that our factory holds are full and the foundries also have full holds to refine more immediately, should the need arise."

"Excellent, Veron", his master grinned. "And your analysis of our target?"

"We now have a working knowledge of nearly every government and military force on the planet."

"-'Nearly'?"

"Yes", Veron replied in a regretful tone. "I'm afraid we were not able to glean much information concerning a race or kingdom of monsters known as 'kaijus'. We know **only** that they are creatures of immense size and power, but segregate themselves even more than most monster species. Their king is apparently a member of the highest governing body of the monsters in general, but there are indications that there is some measure of civil unrest among his own kind."

"Creatures of immense size and power, eh?", the Psion chuckled softly. "I am certain that our strongest weapons will be effective against them should the need arise. Set course for this 'Earth' with all speed. Zero in on the tracking signal as our arrival point. I am **certain** my lovely niece will be **happy** to see her dear old Uncle Obsidious."

"By your command."

xxXXxx

Duncan had just removed his shirt, getting ready for bed, when his phone rang. He looked, and was a bit surprised to see Clawd's number.

"Hey, Clawd, what's up?"

"Duncan! Are you ok? You haven't seen my sister have you?", the werewolf asked, concern thick in his voice.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? Is something wrong with Clawdeen?", he asked, now worried about his mate.

"You could say that", Clawd said. "She went into heat today."

"So? Even after she became Alpha, you guys have been able to keep her contained when that happens."

"Duncan! Have you looked in the sky tonight?!"

"Nnnnoooooo…Why?"

 _"_ _ **It's a FULL MOON!**_ _"_

 ** _"WHAT?!"_**

Duncan quickly did the math in his head. They had strengthened the restraints after Clawdeen became Alpha, and they had held the last time she went into heat. But then he remembered that it wasn't the full moon before! She must have snapped those restraints like licorise!

"How long ago did she escape?", Duncan asked urgently.

"Duncan, Sweetie", he heard her coo through his open window. "I can smell you in there. Come to the window, Hot-Stuff."

"Nevermind, she's here", he said deadpan into the phone.

"Stall her! My parents and I will be there to get her as fast as we can!"

"Hurry! Or you could be an uncle before you graduate!", Duncan said, hanging up. He stepped to his window, and saw Clawdeen standing in a seductive pose pool-side. She was wearing her short, purple flannel nightgown and fleece-lined cuffs on her wrists, each with a short piece of chain attached. "Hey, Babe. How are you feeling?"

"Mmmmmm…..Frisky", she growled seductively, unbuttoning the top few buttons of her nightie to expose her ample cleavage. "Come on down, Lover. I've got an itch that I **_really_** need you to scratch."

"I'm not sure coming down there is such a good idea, Clawdeen", he said. Even from here, he could smell her pheromones, and he would be lying if he claimed to be completely immune. After all, she was his **mate** , and the bond between them was… ** _intimate_** on every level.

"Mmmmm…K", she grinned wickedly. Clawdeen then leapt up to the open window with ease and climbed in. "You're right. Bed is much more appropriate for what I need right now."

She pressed her body against his, her sexy scent becoming overwhelming. It took **_all_** his will-power to resist ravishing her right then and there! She backed him up against his bed and he fell backwards onto it.

"Perfect", she purred, straddling him and holding his wrists down. She leaned down to kiss him passionately, then began to work on his neck with lips, tongue and teeth. She was also grinding her wet nether-regions against the member swelling in his shorts. Duncan could feel his resolve eroding quickly. Suddenly, just as he was about to give in, Clawdeen looked at his door just before DJ and Joe rushed in.

"Hi, guys", she said cheerfully. "It's nice ta see ya. But if you don't mind, Duncan and I are trying to have a ….. ** _private_** moment here."

"Yeah, sorry, but I'm thinking that's why your brother called us", DJ said, as Joe turned into titanium.

"Guys", she said with a low growl. "I'm only gonna say this once: get out….. ** _now_**."

Coming partially back to his senses, Duncan managed to toss her off of himself and toward DJ. The cyborg boy gave her a mild shock, then Joe wrapped her in a bear-hug from behind.

"Thanks, guys", Duncan panted. "Can you hold her until her family gets here, Joe?"

"Ugh", Joe grunted with the effort of holding the struggling werewolf. "I think so, as long as they don't take too long."

"Let me go!", she growled, then looked pleadingly at her beloved life-mate. "Duncan, please! I **_need_** you right now!"

"I want you so bad right now, it hurts, Beautiful", he breathed. "But we would both regret it in the morning. We're not ready to be parents yet, my love."

"We were afraid of this", Clawson said as he arrived with Harriet and Clawd. "She actually physically reached you. Now there's no way her cycle will pass without her…getting physical with her mate, or her 'heat' will turn into a dangerous fever."

"There's no other way?", Margaret asked.

"I'm afraid not", Harriet sighed. "I want to be a grandmother, but not this soon."

"Agreed", Margaret said.

"But I can't just leave her like this", Duncan said, now concerned for Clawdeen's health.

"Wait!", Kenny said, inspired. "You said she has to **mate** now, right? Does that by extention mean that she **has** to get **pregnant** to prevent the fever?"

"Not necessarily", Harriet said after thinking a moment.

"Then I think I have an idea!", Kenny said, running to his room. He came back and handed Duncan a small package of condoms. "I had a few left from before Frankie went on the pill."

The Wolf family and Duncan all face-palmed themselves. It was so simple! Even more simple than restraints! Why had none of them thought of it before?

"Bro! You're a genius!", Duncan said. "Ok, everybody out. Joe? Release Clawdeen and leave quickly as soon as everyone else is out."

xxXXxx

"We bid you all good night", Clawson smiled.

"Wait, don't you want to take her home when they're…..uh…done?", DJ asked.

"They're going to be at it for hours, and I don't think you want us here all night, nor do we feel like sitting around that long", Harriet chuckled, already hearing the 'commotion' from Duncan's room. "You all may want to consider ear-plugs when you go to bed."

"Please just have Duncan bring her home in the morning?", Clawson added.

xxXXxx

"I have spoken to the Monster Council of Royals and Headmistress Bloodgood about your proposal, Desdemona", Boodika told her friend. "They approve, but need time to prepare. Also, they have requested certain assurances that this is not a ruse to annex this realm to your own."

"An understandable caution", the Demon Queen replied from the crystal ball. "Therefore, my lilim daughters and certain other breeds of my children will not take part, I assure you. Also, only a few monsters at a time will be involved."

"I think they will find that acceptable."

"It is the least I can do after you helped me save my realm, and then sent those men to my realm", Desdemona smiled. "One of them has already caught the eye of my daughter Talia, and their leader…."

"I….don't need to know, thank you", Boodika chuckled. "We're just glad you were willing to give us an alternative to executing them."

xxXXxx

In the days since her Uncle's trial and exile; Lilith, as his only heir, had spent several days going through the mansion with Boodika Le Fey and officers of the Monster authorities to confiscate any contraband or magical items that would be safer in other hands. The crystal skull for example, was sentient and relieved to be found by Boodika, and offered to serve the elder witch willingly after years of resisting the will of Van Hellscream.

But now Lilith was packing her personal belongings. Headmistress Bloodgood had offered to take her in until she came of age and help her adjust to her now permanent life as a monster. The Van Hellscream mansion would be shut down and sealed until she was ready to take up residence again.

All packed, she sat on her old bed with tears streaming down her face, sobbing at the irony. After being raised to hate and hunt monsters, her uncle had turned out to be the **real** monster; cursing her forever to live as one of the monsters he'd taught her to fear and hate. And it was the monsters who were welcoming her with open arms to help her adjust to her new life.

"Lilith? Are you ok?"

"Jason", she sighed, seeing her boyfriend and savior at her bedroom door. "Jason, I know we said we'd always be together, get married, have kids. Even after I got turned into this, but that was when we both thought I would change back. But now…"

"Lilith, don't…..", he began as he sat next to her and took her hand in his.

"I'll **_never_** be human again, Jason!", she sobbed. "I love you and I can't be so selfish as to hold you to promises made before, when you could have a happy and normal future with someone else.(she looks lovingly into his eyes) I release you from any commitment to me."

"No."

"Huh?", she sniffed.

"I said no", he said in a firm but gentle voice as he embraced her. "I love you, Lilith. It don't matter what you look like. I love you, and I still want to be with you, and marry you, and have children with you when we're ready."

"But, your family…."

"Are 100% behind us", he told her. "I told them everything, and how in the end you did the right thing and your uncle made you pay the price for it. They're proud of me standing by you, and are behind us in whatever we decide."

"Oh, Jason!", Lilith kissed him deeply. "But I'm a succubus, I could accidentally kill you or suck out your soul?"

"We've made love how many times since you changed? Five? Six?", he arched an eyebrow. "Granted, I felt more drained than before, but I'm still here. I trust you completely."

"I love you, Jason", she smiled, tears of joy in her eyes now.

"I love you, too, Lilith", he smiled, kissing her again. "And I would be honored if I could be your date for the Spring Fling?"

"Of course! Pick me up at 7:30 at the Headmistress' mansion?"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: The invasion is almost here! But I thought I was important to show the aftermath in this realm of Van Hellscream's exile.**

 **Plus, what were Boodika and Dersdemona discussing? And what impact with it have on the realms?**

 **Long reviews are always welcome, as are suggestions for my first 'Primal Hearts' sequel!**

 **xxXXxx**


	80. Chapter 79

**_Hey, Everyone! What I have for you this chapter is the calm before the storm! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 79

Thad was waiting for Jinx in the living room with her mom, Lexxa. They were going to the Spring Fling together, and it promised to be a great party; the first dance of the year to be held outside around the Monster High pool. He was looking very dapper, as the fling was a semi-formal for the whole school. He wore his cape over a black and red formal suit with no tie and the top two buttons of his shirt open. Lexxa looked toward the hall and smiled proudly.

"You look very handsome tonight, my love."

Thad looked toward the voice of his ghoulfriend, and was floored! The fashion club had made her a beautiful red and black satin and velvet dress; stylish, form-fitting, semi-lowcut, and very flattering to her 'baby-bump'. Her hair and make-up were immaculate.

"Jinx, you're so beautiful that you're practically glowing", he breathed, as he stepped up the kiss her sweetly, and lovingly stroke her belly.

"Thank you, you're so sweet", she said shyly.

xxXXxx

"Mother Goddess above", Duncan said, as Clawdeen twirled to show him the dress she made herself. It was gorgeous, black and purple satin with black, faux fur off-the-shoulder straps. It was tight over her generous curves before the skirt flared out at mid-thigh with purple lace. Her luscious hair was clipped up to resemble a fox-tail with a few bangs to frame her perfect face. The look was topped of by her open-toed strap-on high heels. "I have no idea how you can possibly top this for prom next year, but I'm gonna enjoy watching you try!"

"Thanks, Hot-Stuff", she blushed. "You're lookin' pretty good tonight, too."

"Thanks, Beautiful", Duncan blushed. He was wearing black slacks and a purple dress-shirt and black jacket that she had altered for him. Over that he had extended his wings and 'cloaked' them to resemble a red-orange cape. "I got the idea to do this with my wings back in Ever After."

"It's cool. I really like that look on you", she smiled.

"We better get going", he chuckled. "Kenny and Frankie are waiting in the Jeep."

"Where are the other guys?"

"DJ and Joe are borrowing Mom's SUV to pick up Robecca and Venus", Duncan told her. "That way, Mom still has Joe's truck in case of emergency."

xxXXxx

Chase Rider arrived at the Bloodgood mansion and rang the bell. The Headmistress was already at the school to chaperone, and the ghouls without dates had gone with her. As he pulled up, he waved to DJ and Robecca as they left. Abby answered the door in an icy looking dress trimmed with white faux fur, as she was waiting for Heath to pick her up.

"Howdy, Abby", he said politely, tipping his hat. "Is Dani ready?"

"Da, I vill call her. DANI! YOUR COWBOY DATE IS AT DOOR!"

"Ok! I'll be right down!", she called from upstairs.

Chase fidgeted his bolo-tie nervously, hoping his fancy duds were nice enough; especially after the struggle he had with Stampede! The ghost horse was not keen on how he was decked out, and only caved when Chase told him it was for Dani.

"I'm ready, Chase. You look great tonight", he heard her voice say from the stairs. When he looked, she was a vision of young beauty. She was wearing a dress that Sam, her surrogate mother, had made for her. It was a perfect balance of Wild West and Goth styles, and the older ghouls had helped her with her make-up.

"Hooo-weee, Dani", he said breathlessly. "You look purtier than a richochet shot into a perfect bulleye."

"Thank you! You're so sweet!", she blushed. "My dad is letting me stay for the whole dance this time; as long as I don't go anywhere else."

"Yahoo! Well then, li'l lady, our chariot awaits", he grinned, sweeping his arm toward Stampede. Dani gasped pleasantly. Stampede was hitched up to a beautiful, spectral, 2-seat, 2-wheeled buggy. "When I told my folks I wanted to really treat you in style, they let me take **this** out of the carriage house. They only use it for the most **special** occasions."

"It's so beautiful!", she gushed as he helped her aboard. She felt like a Wild West princess!

xxXXxx

Astranova smiled as she levitated into the dance alongside the bouncy steps of HooDude. The living voodoo doll just exuded enthusiasm, kissing her hand when he arrived to escort her to the dance, she just couldn't help smiling. Her dress for the dance was even shinier and trimmed with even more crystals than normal. To match her, HooDude wore a silvery white suit with a purple shirt, shoes, and pocket-square. With all the lights and music, no one noticed her necklace glowing softly.

Kipling, who been so shy when he first arrived last spring, was here with the Kobold sisters. The two girls appeared to have no problem sharing their manster with each other.

Tusk McBoar was dancing with Silvi Timberwolf. Many still found them to be an odd pairing, since in times past they would've been predator and prey. But after working together during the crisis with Moanica D'Kay, their relationship just blossomed.

Andy Beast let Marisol Coxi lead as they danced, as he was still learning. They didn't mind, it just meant that they got to do close in each other's arms.

Chad and Jinafire were gazing lovingly into each other's eyes as they danced close. Lilith and Jason were cheek-to-cheek, While Toralei and the twins purred in the arms of their boyfriends.

All the couples were dancing together and having a good time. A platform had been built across the middle of the pool to provide more dancing space. The Hex Girls and Holt were alternating the music duties.

xxXXxx

(MEGTAF HQ)

"Col. Barnes!"

"What is it, Soldier?', Barnes replied, approaching the man on monitor duty who'd spoken.

"Look at this, Sir", he said. "That faint signal emanating from the New Salem area seems to be increasing, but in a strange way."

"How do you mean?", he asked, looking at the screen.

"I'm not sure, Sir, but it almost looks like it's doubling back on itself; like feedback."

Strange. The signals from deep-space had ceased a few months ago. Everyone had assumed that the source simply changed course, and moved away from Earth. But if the trace signal was getting feedback, then could mean…

"Get on the horn with NASA, NORAD, and SAC right fucking **now!** ", Barnes yelled urgently. "We need a complete scan of everything in orbit immediately!"

As several subordinates scrambled to obey, the first man looked to his commander. "What do you think is happening, Sir?"

"Hopefully nothing, soldier", Barnes said, looking very worried. "But if not, then we **desperately** need to know what we're dealing with and **_fast!_** _"_

xxXXxx

(The Multiversal Nexxus of the Timestream)

"It is time", Hexiciah Steam sighed resignedly, closing his pocketwatch.

"Indeed", agreed Clockwork, the Ghost World's Master of Time, as he shifted from infant to adult to old-man and back.

"We will all observe what transpires closely", Metron said neutrally.

"I wish we could help", the youthful Sora said, hefting his Keyblade.

"I know the heroes from my timelines would be glad to help, if they could", Trunks grumbled.

"Yes, I dare say all of us would either help or send those better suited to", Professor Paradox said.

"However, the rules against any being, including us, interfering with timelines that are not their own are absolute", Merlin said. "In fact, you two are only able to work together because your realms are so closely connected. However, we all wish you the best of luck."

xxXXxx

Margaret was enjoying the peace and quiet of a house emptied of teen-age boys. Popcorn, a glass of wine, and an old movie on TV. She smiled as she thought about all her boys out dancing with the ghouls they loved, which then got her thinking fondly of her own mate; Belloc.

Her reverie was broken by a sudden wind and strange sounds coming from the backyard. The wind died down, and new strange sounds ensued. She stepped outside cautiously to investigate. She saw strange lights among the copse of trees that partially hid the cluster of boulders.

"The energy signature is emanating from beneath that large stone", a medium-pitched electronic voice said. "It is too large for us to move."

"Then destroy the stone", a deeper electronic voice replied. "We have been commanded to retrieve this energy source by any means required."

Margaret creeped closer, and saw a squad of robots. They had shiny silver and black armor, with semi-transparent sections on the back of their heads. They each seemed to have a single, horizontally oscillating, bright red sensor light in place of eyes. Each was also carrying a wicked-looking rifle of some kind with a serrated crystal bayonette.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?", she demanded, causing them to turn toward her.

"A native being", the subordinate robot stated. "Designation: human."

"We are here to retrieve the item under that stone", the leader said. "If you attempt to interfere you will be terminated."

Margaret's eye's widened. They were after the Heart of Fire! The robots then opened fire with their energy rifles, blasting the boulder to pieces, revealing the Heart! The leader moved to pick it up.

"You mustn't touch that!", she urged. "You have no idea what you're dealing with!"

"Silence!", the leader-bot said. "Withdraw or be terminated."

"Whoa! Easy there, fellas!", Margaret said putting her hands up and backing off a bit as they picked up the Heart of Fire. "I'm not interfering. Who are you?"

"We are the cyber-robotic soldiers of the Psion Empire under the direct command of Supreme Commander Obsidous Blackstar", the lead-bot said. Margaret's eyes widened. Psion? Obsidous Blackstar? She knew those names from speaking with Astranova at the big cook-out last Fall! "This world will soon belong to the Psion Empire. Terminate the human."

The other soldiers all opened fire. Margaret was able avoid the blasts by dashing through the trees, the flying debris and smoke covering her escape! She jumped into the pool and hid in the grotto behind the waterfall. The commotion stopped, and she could hear the eerie sound of their oscillating eyes.

"We can find no sign of the human", a subordinate stated.

"We cannot waste any further time here", the squad-leader said. "We must return with this artifact to the Supreme Commander."

Margaret heard them withdraw, then the strange wind and sounds from before returned; their ship she now realized, as she saw the vague shape through the waterfall as it flew away.

She climbed out of the pool and pulled out her smartphone to call Duncan…only to find the water had wrecked her phone. She ran inside to try contacting Barnes through a video-call to MEGTAF!

xxXXxx

The Spring Fling was really jumping. The students, and even the teachers and chaperones were having fun. This dance was the unofficial start of Spring Break for them all, so spirits were high.

Astranova was happy, literally walking on air as she danced with HooDude while levitating over the dancefloor. They were perfectly matched, and it didn't hurt—literally!—that she was apparently immune to his accidental voodoo powers. Her heart swelled when, while dancing close, he had kissed her ever so sweetly on the lips. The other couples who saw them smiled knowingly.

She was in the middle of kissing him back, when the wind picked up dramatically, along with strangely familiar engine sounds. Everyone looked in the direction of the wind and sounds as she and HooDude returned to the ground. There was a familiar, elliptical shape descending toward them. It couldn't be! A **_Psion_** ship?! Was her family here to rescue her? Wait, that's a Psion **military** shuttle!

The ship landed, and everyone waited and watched curiously. A hatch opened underneath into a ramp. An imposing, ten-foot tall figure descended, flanked by a platoon of mechanoid soldiers. Astranova, still in shock, stepped in front of all her friends, facing the figure.

"Dear, sweet Astranova", he smirked. "It appears you've stranded youself, my dear niece. But it seems that you've done so on a practically **perfect** planet."

"U-Uncle Obsidious?!"

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: THEY'RE HERE! Next chapter the invasion begins!**

 **This chapter we finally saw all current members of my "Multiversal Time-Corps.": Professor Paradox(Ben 10/Generator Rex), Hexiciah Steam(Monster High), Future-Trunks(Dragonball Z), Sora(Kingdom Hearts, Keyblade wielder), ClockWork(Danny Phantom), Metron(DC), Merlin(Disney). Various members will appear from time to time in almost all my works.**

 **As always, long reviews are welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	81. Chapter 80: Invasion!

**_Hey, Everyone! Sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I'm having…..technical difficulties with my primary computer. So until it's fixed, I have to make do with my dinosaur of an old one, which is slower and glitchier than an 80's dot-matrix printer!_**

 ** _Just to clarify: Kipling is dating the Kobold sisters, the girls with ears similar to his who thought he was cute at the end of "Escape from Skull Shores"._**

Chapter 80: Invasion! Ultimatum! The First Casualties.

Everyone present at Monster High's Spring Fling was shocked silent not only by the arrival of a ship from space, but more so by the fact the being who came out was Astranova's uncle! At 10 feet tall, with a muscular build, wearing gold and black over his smoke-colored crystalline flesh, and a rather unnerving grin; he cut a very intimidating figure. Add to that, he was surrounded by a phalanx of 6 foot tall mechanized soldiers!

It had been so long since Astranova had left the dying planet Psion on her mission to find new worlds for her people, let alone seen any of her family. As a child, she had always been rather afraid of her mother's brother, but now…she was overjoyed to see her uncle! She rushed forward and hugged him fiercely.

"Did my parents send you to get me?", she asked after breaking the hug. He laughed the chilling laugh that had frightened her when she was small, making her step back a few steps.

"No, my dear", he grinned. "They, and most of our surviving population, chose to colonize one of the worlds you found and sent data on, the one with the most optimum conditions. However, it will still take decades, or even generations for our culture and civilization to become what it was on our homeworld. I chose to follow you further. You see, I **knew** you would eventually find a more suitable planet. So I kept following you, even after your ship malfunctioned and went off-course."

"You followed me instead of staying with our people? How? Why?", she asked, confused.

"How is easy", he grinned. "I see you are still wearing the necklace I gave you when you left on your mission.(her hand reflexively went to her necklace) Yes, it contains a tracking device. As for 'why', to prove to those fools on the ruling council that **my** solution was the right one for the survival of our people! When they learn I have found a world on which our culture and civilization could recover and thrive within a solar year, they will demand that the Council follow me and leave that miserable rock on which they would have to struggle for so long!"

"Wait, what planet are you refering to?", Grace Bloodgood asked suspiciously.

"Why, **this** one of course, dear lady", Obsidious smirked. "I studied it thoroughly as my baseship drew nearer. So many easily adaptable cities and infrastructure, and inferior beings to do our bidding."

"Uncle! No! You can't!", Astranova cried, as many of her peers tensed up, preparing to fight. "The Council decided **against** your plan to conquer a planet! When I got stranded here, Ms. Bloodgood there took me in and cared for me! She helped me adapt to this world! And so have all my friends!"

"And I am grateful", he said smugly. "Which is why I will make this offer: **Join** me, monsters. I know that both the humans and monsters of your world all watch what happens here at this 'Monster High' and the surrounding community. Contact your 'Monster Council of Royals' and the human 'United Nations'. Convince the humans to surrender to Psion rule, or help me to conquer them, and all your species will be favored under my rule. You have struggled for millennia for mere co-existence and equality and it is still denied you! Take your rightful place over the pathetic human race!"

"We would rather struggle for another thousand years for co-existence, or die, than be subservient to you!", Bloodgood shouted, which was echoed by everyone present.

"It seems an example must be made", the elder Psion said. "A pity. Centurions."

"By your command."

"Bring me my niece", Obsidious said. "Oh, and exterminate the others."

The mechanoid soldiers raised their rifles and began firing as they advanced. Joe turned into titanium while DJ analyzed the centurions. "Go for the joints!", he called out as Duncan, the athletes, and several others moved to defend the rest!

Duncan blasted several with fire-balls as he decapitated and/or dismembered others close up. Abby froze and shattered a few. Frankie overloaded some with her electricity. Joe took several stinging hits before getting close enough to smash werewolves and other fighters destroyed several others…until more centurions emerged from the shuttle! Joe reached into a pouch and turned into crystal and stepped in front of the others. He absorbed and redirected the energy blasts from their rifles **back** at them! They shorted out as they were felled by their own weapons.

"If that's the best you've got", Duncan smirked as the last mechanoids fell.

"Then you might as well leave our planet, like, **now!** ", Clawdeen growled.

Obsidious glared unflinching at them for a few moments. Then he laughed….a horrible, creepy, evil laugh that sent chills down their collective spines. He the reached out telekinetically and seized Astranova, pulling her to him.

"Hey!", HooDude yelled as he charged forward, with Kipling and Tusk right with him. "Let her go!"

Obsidious grinned maliciously, aiming his hand at them.

 _"_ _ **No!**_ _"_ , Astranova screamed as her uncle blasted them with with a massive bolt of energy, reducing all three of them to ash! The crowd gasped in shock, as crystalline tears fell from Astranova's eyes for her date; a boy she could've seen herself being with for a very long time, and his friends. The Kobold sisters and Silvi Timberwolf cried tearfully for their fallen loves. Duncan snarled and made to charge, but was stopped by Clawdeen.

"You didn't **really** think this phalanx and shuttle were all I had, did you?", the elder Psion sneered. "You know my flagship, my dear. **Tell them!** "

"*sniff* His baseship is **_miles_** across, armed with power energy cannons, and carries **legions** of centurions and attack craft", she told them. "And there are on-board factories to make more if needed."

"Plus", Obsidious grinned, "thanks to the asteroid belt and gas-giants of this star-system, my supply holds are full of enough raw materials for those factories to produce enough forces to **level** the civilization of this planet several times over! My lovely niece will come with me. Take my ultimatum, and my offer, to your leaders. I will be in contact soon."

Those gathered could do nothing as Obsidious Blackstar turned and carried the sobbing Astranova into the shuttle. Moments later, it powered up and took off into the night.

xxXXxx

"Sir!"

"What is it, Soldier?", Barnes asked.

"We have confirmation from multiple agencies! The UFO is in stationary, low-Earth orbit over Southern California!"

"Show me!", he demanded. The MEGTAF soldier showed him the accumulated data. "Holy….! That thing is at least five miles across!"

"Sir! There are also reports of smaller craft that have touched down and left again in New Salem!"

Barnes' breath caught in his throat. The same area that the faint signal was emanating from, practically in the backyard of Margaret and the boys! A video-call was coming in.

"Barnes!", Margaret panted when he answered. "I just had some rather unfriendly visitors!"

"We know!", he told her. "Two UFO's came from a much larger mother-ship in orbit! But why did they go to your house? What did they want?"

"Nevermind that!", she said quickly. "I have some info for you! The robots that tried to kill me serve an alien who is the uncle of the alien girl attending Monster High! Most of her race is peaceful, but he is the militant exception! Maybe I should've told you about her before, but she's a harmless innocent."

"Are you sure she's innocent, Margaret?", he asked dubiously. "We were picking up that signal for months….."

"I've been thinking about that", she replied. "Before she left her home on an important mission to save their people, he'd given her a necklace for 'good luck'. She showed it to me. I'm betting it was a tracker of some kind. Hang on, my landline phone is ringing. Duncan? What's wrong? Mother Goddess above! Is everyone else all right?! Some of his troops came here, too! Don't worry, I'm ok, but they got 'it' from it's hiding place! I don't know! I'm on video with Barnes right now. Ok, see you soon."

"What did you mean?", Barnes asked suspiciously. "What did they take from a 'hiding place'?"

" **Not** your concern, Barnes", she said quickly. "But they hit the school dance as well! Three of Duncan's friends were killed! The girl's uncle actually came down himself to take her and deliver his ultimatum!"

"Which is?"

"I'll have Duncan and the boys tell you when they get home", she said. "They should be here shortly."

xxXXxx

Word spread quickly across the world, through both human and monster communities. The U.N. assembled in New York, while the Monster Council of Royals conferred via crystal mirrors, and human world leaders communicated directly and through their U.N. representatives. Demonstrations sprang up around the planet. Some demonstrators called for surrender, wanting peace and survival at any price. The vast majority, however, favored strong resistance; to fight in defense of Earth to the very end, whatever that end may be.

Ramses De Nile offered Margaret and the boys the more protected shelter of his pyramid during this crisis, and she accepted after her experience that night in her own backyard! Much of the New Salem community, human and monster were taking shelter in Monster High and the castle homes of local prominent monster families.

Boodika had been in contact with fellow witches, wizards, and other magic users across the world, in the hopes that they could help defend the planet.

The human governments were in a panic. Even their most advanced militaries had no combat-capable space-crafts! And any missiles that **could** reach the mother-ship would be easily detected and destroyed before reaching the target!

xxXXxx

Veron entered his master's chamber carrying the Heart of Fire with the electronic equivalent of trepidation. Obsidious' command chair rotated until he could look down at his minion.

"By your command."

"Speak."

"We have examined and attempted every method at our disposal to tap into the vast power of this artifact", Veron told him. "However, it remains beyond our ability to quatify or use in any way. However, we have determined that it is incredibly ancient and beyond the ability of this planet's native populations to use or duplicate."

"So it is useless to us, and them as well", the Psion grumbled. "However, it is an attractive trinket. Put it on a chain so that I may wear it as a trophy of conquest. What actions have they taken on the planet below?"

"Most of the human military forces have been mobilized to a state of readiness to act. The human 'United Nations' have gathered, and they are preparing to communicate in some way with members of the 'Monster Council of Royals'. We can only assume it is for the purpose of mounting a defense. We know the locations of several monster royals; in fact one of the prominent members of the council resides in the very community in which we found you niece: a 'Ramses De Nile'."

"Then we must extend an invitation to these esteemed leaders", Obsidious grinned maliciously. "Send our extraction teams. I will personally extend the invitation to this 'Ramses' myself with my elite guards."

"By your command."

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: WHAT THE…..?! Did I** ** _really_** **just kill off a few characters?! Including one of my own OC's?! Yup. And they're just the first losses. This invasion is no joke! What hope does the Earth have?! Wait and see! LOL!**

 **As I stated earlier, due to technical difficulties I will be unable to post my chapters as often as I normally do, at least until those tech issues are resolved.**

 **As always, long reviews are very welcome! I am now open to suggestions for the first sequel or possibly mini-stories to take place during Monster High's 'summer vacation'!**

 **xxXXxx**


	82. Chapter 81

**_Hey, Everyone!Again, I apologise for how long it took me to post this chapter. I'm still having technical problems._**

 ** _This chapter, the invasion takes a diabolical turn; and the major fighting still hasn't started yet!_**

Chapter 81

Activity was rife at the Temple of the Moon. As it was one of the few places the Monster Council of Royals gathered at times, it was also ideal for them to gather remotely via their crystal mirrors, with Mentor Fenris Silvermane coordinating. The mirrors surrounded the conference table, each with the image of a Royal attending. Fenris acknowledged his Alpha, who had decided to bring and keep her family safe with her in the catacombs of Monster High, with Duncan and Boodika by her side.

"My kind have been the guardians of our world since before the rise of man or monster", Belloc rumbled. "But **never** has a threat remotely like this ever occurred before."

"The ancient records of my line confirm this as well", Ryu-Chi agreed.

"What we're dealing with is no joke", Clawdeen said. "Even without his robot armies, the power I sensed from Obsidious Blackstar…and I saw him reduce three of my friends to ashes as easily as blinking."

"Many of us Royals have fought in wars before in times past", Ramses said gravely. "How is this any different?"

"Are you forgetting what Astranova told our Monster High friends as her uncle took her away?", Danny Phantom interjected. "He has legions of troops and war machines, and the ability and materials to rapidly create more many times over! Our best bet is to combine forces with the human militaries of the world."

"I must reluctantly agree with King Phantom", Belloc rumbled, to the shock of the others. "Having fought MEGTAF frequently until recent years, I know first-hand the humans have the numbers and technology to help fight this battle."

"The normies cannot be trusted!", Ramses growled. "Nor are they likely to be open to such an alliance! True co-existence alone is still a distant dream. Besides, how do we know for certain that the alien girl was not lying? The invader is, after all, her own kind?"

"She did not lie", a British-sounding voice said from the ether. A blue portal opened in the council room, just before Hexiciah Steam and ClockWork came through. The older members of the Royal Council felt a touch of dread. For no less than **_two_** Timewalkers to appear at a time like this was a bad omen.

"Most of Astranova's race are peaceful colonists on another planet", ClockWork said, as he ever shifted between child, prime-age, and old. "Having fled there as their homeworld died. Astranova herself helped them find their new home."

"It is her uncle who is the militant exception", Hexiciah continued. "As the leader of the Psion military, he believed they should simply conquer an inhabited world for their new home. This was voted down by their governing council. Astranova knows the technology and ships of her race well, and was truthful in her statements about Obsidious' baseship. It could, if he so chose, level your cities from orbit. Fortunately, he will not, as he wants as much of our world's infrastructure intact as possible. He arrogantly believes that his people will abandon building a new world from scratch in favor of one already built."

"However", ClockWork added, "that means he will send down his troops and war machines to crush all resistance. King Phantom and Belloc are correct: it will take an alliance of both monsters and normies to defeat this threat."

"Don't forget Astranova!", Boodika chimed in. "She is a victim in all this as well. And she may yet find a way to help us."

"She's right", Clawdeen added. "She was no loyalty to her uncle, not after what he's done already."

"How so?", Granita asked.

"One of the three he killed the other night", Duncan said gravely, "was the boy she loved; HooDude Voodoo."

The Royals conferred briefly, and reluctantly agreed that an alliance with the normies was their best chance.

"New York City is right next to Boo York City", Rat King stated. "I will go there to the United Nations to propose the alliance."

"I will contact President Bernside", Boodika said, referring to the President of the United States. "He owes me; I introduced him to his wife 25 years ago. I will also contact as many covens around the world as I can, to magically shield or hide as many cities as possible; just in case."

"I will prepare my loyal kaijus for battle", Belloc grinned, relishing the thought of combat with a powerful force.

"All of us must prepare our kingdoms and call for volunteers from among our subjects", Elizzabat said sadly. When she had taken the throne of the Vampire Nation, she had dearly hoped to never need to call them to battle. Stefan, now her vampire consort, squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"Fenris", Clawdeen said to her mentor, "I'll rally the packs here, if you would please coordinate those around the world?"

"Of course, Alpha Clawdeen", the elder wolf bowed in obedience. He did not see her turning to him as weakness, but wisdom. His Alpha was inexperienced still, but knew that he had led the werewolves in battle during the wars with the vampires, thus she was wisely turning to him in his experience.

"But even with this alliance, we have no way to strike at his baseship", Danny said. "Earth has no combat capable spacecraft; not even MEGTAF. And for us to have any hope of winning, we have to take the fight to him and his ship. He could easily shoot down any missiles that get lauched before they even get close."

"That is true, my King", ClockWork grinned. "The **_humans_** don't fighting ships that could reach the enemy…..but **you** do."

Danny face-palmed. "Of course! Ghost ships and crews are unaffected by certain laws of physics! They could engage the baseship! I'm headed to the Ghost World to rally every ghost pirate and haunted warship there! As well as **any** ghost willing to fight!"

"And **you** , our timewalking friends", Ramses asked pointedly. "Will **you** be helping us repel this invasion with your rather inpressive powers?"

"You know very well that we are not permitted to interfere directly in any timeline, Ramses", ClockWork said.

"We can only advise you, or those who champion your cause in this", Steam said. "I have already helped set things in motion months ago to help prepare some of those who will be needed."

"As have I", the Time ghost added.

" **That's** why you suggested I send Dani to Monster High", Danny realized. "So she could teach the other ghost students."

"Yes", he replied. "Hexiciah originally suggested to me that **you** do it, Danny. But I realized that as King, you were needed elsewhere. Your adopted daughter was the next logical choice, my King."

"We are gonna have a long talk about leaving out important details when this is over, ClockWork", Danny growled.

xxXXxx

President Sanderson Bernside had a lot on his mind. He had only just been elected to office this year on the Democratic ticket after serving as a long-running Independent in the Senate. His policies were already showing great progress in improving the lives of ALL Americans. The **_last_** thing he expected was an alien invasion!

He had just gotten off the phone with Boodika Le Fey. The alliance proposed by the Monster Council of Royals, which was even now being presented to the United Nations by one of the Royals personally, was likely the only hope the planet had! His combat flight missions during Dersert Storm would be like a picnic in the park compared to what was to come.

His Vice President was safe deep within NORAD mountain. He himself was, for his own safety, remaining in flight aboard a specially commissioned B2-Bomber refitted to serve as a stealth 'Air Force One'. This enabled him to also more easily coordinate with his military forces and those of his allies.

He hoped that the U.N. would not take too long to accept the proposed alliance. He had just messaged the American representatives there to lobby and vote in favor of it, and a united, coordinated front against this alien invader.

"Mr. President?", a dark-suited man wearing dark sunglasses said as he stepped in.

"Yes, Agent Simmons?"

"All our forces report readiness to deploy at a moment's notice", he said. "And MEGTAF reports at least one squadron of the new XF-27 Fighters are combat ready at Groom Lake."

"Good. Tell the pilot to land at Groom Lake and order all military forces to maintain combat-ready alert with the possibility of new orders at any time. It is likely that the monster community will help us in what is to come, so any monsters that approach peacefully are not to be fired upon and are to be treated as potential allies."

"Yes, Sir."

xxXXxx

With most of the local monsters willing fight gathered at Monster High with Duncan, Clawdeen, and Headmistress Bloodgood, some volunteered to help protect the other castles that were sheltering civilians. Duncan was relieved that DJ and Joe, along with Andy Beast, were reinforcing the Anubis guards at the De Nile pyramid, seeing as his mother and Kenny were there with Ramses and his family.

At the pyramid, the three teens watched the regimented patrols of the Anubis guards and decided to roam about on watch randomly, the throw off any potential intruders. They always came back to the entrance, and reported to the guard captain at intervals. They were about to check the grounds again, when the wind picked up with familiar engine sounds!

"Incoming!", DJ shouted as the same Psion shuttle from the night of the dance dropped out of the sky!

Joe turned into diamond while Andy snarled and grew to his full height. DJ's shout had alerted the Anubis guards, who came running spears in hand!

The shuttle opened and centurions poured out, firing their blasters. Joe redirected many blasts back at them, while Andy roared and smashed them like toys. Then Obsidious stepped out of the ship.

"Insects!", he hissed angrily, as he hit Joe with the same massive bolt of energy that had reduced his friends to ash! Joe was thrown painfully back into DJ, both slamming into the outside wall of the stone pyramid. Out cold, Joe reverted to normal. On the verge of blacking out, DJ mentally sent a desperate text message to Duncan.

The centurions kept peppering Andy with blasts from their rifles as he swatted at them angrily. With every swing of his fist or stomp of his foot, a few more were scrap. Then he shuddered as an intense blast of heat hit his massive, hairy chest. He looked to see a smoking crater in his chest, and a strange numbing sensation began to spread through him. He reverted to normal, and collapsed. He looked up into the sneering face of Obsidious Blackstar, his hand still glowing.

"Centurions, the guards are expendable", the Psion ordered. "As are any servants. I want anyone else inside alive."

"By your command", the gold command centurion intoned deeply.

"By your command", the silver centurions echoed, as they fought through the Anubis guards.

xxXXxx

Those at Monster High had just finished cycling through the creepateria to eat, and were returning to the safety of the catacombs. Duncan was walking with Clawdeen and their friends bringing up the rear of the civilians, when his phone beeped a text-alert. He opened it, and the color drained from his face.

"The pyramid is under attack!", he shouted. "I have to go!"

"Alone?!", Clawdeen barked. "No way!"

"I can fly there faster than anyone else! You stay here to protect everyone else, Clawdeen!"

"Take me with you!", Marisol begged. "Andy is mi amor! And I am strong!"

"Good idea!", Clawdeen said. "At least take her as back up!"

"Ugh! No time to argue! Come on, Mari!", Duncan growled as he extended his wings. He grabbed Marisol and took off as fast as his wings could carry them.

They arrived to find scores of wrecked centurions, dead and wounded Anubis guards. Duncan ran to the crumpled forms of his best friends. They were unconscious, but alive.

"NO! ANDY! MI AMOR!", Marisol cried from nearby. Duncan looked…..and his blood froze. Marisol Coxi was kneeling tearfully over her fallen lover, his chest a smoking ruin. He ran over to them.

"M-Mari?", Andy gasped.

"Si! I am here, Mi Amor!", she cried.

"I-I h-have to t-tell….", he gasped.

"Easy, buddy", Duncan urged from Andy's other side. "Don't try to talk. We'll get you some help."

"T-too late f-for me", he coughed blood. "Y-you n-need to know….Obsi-sidious….h-he t-took them….all of th-them…."

"He was here? He took the De Niles and my family?"

Andy nodded, his eyes starting to glaze over. He coughed more blood. "T-took them a-alive…y-you...s-save them…"

"Hsssshhhhh, Andy", Mari said, tears still streaming down her face as she lovingly stroked his cheek. "Rest now. We will get you help."

"L-light f-fading….t-took all m-my*coff* st-strength to hang on this l-long", Andy looked to the ghoul he loved. "Always r-rem-member th-that I l-love you, M-Marisolllll…."

"No, Mi Amor! Don't leave me!", Mari cried, taking his hand and placing it on her belly. "You are a padre! A father! Por favor! Stay with me!"

Andy smiled, and even with his strength fading fast, he reached up to cup her cheek.

"She'll be as p-pretty as you, I j-just know it. T-tell her about me…..I l-love youuuu….."

With that, the light faded from his eyes. Marisol cried bitterly, her heart broken. She looked up tearfully when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Duncan's face was written in sympathy…..and understanding. His eyes told her without words that he knew exactly how she felt.

xxXXxx

The surviving Anubis guards and zombie servants set about cleaning up. Duncan and Marisol returned to Monster High with DJ and Joe once they revived. Everyone could see the loss and defeat in their faces.

"Andy?", Bloogood asked. Marisol broke down in tears, while Duncan shook his head sadly. Grace sighed sadly. "Your family? And the De Niles?"

"Obsidious took them", DJ said. "He came down himself to do it. I saw him and his centurions take them alive, just before I blacked out."

"This wasn't the only place this happened", Bloodgood said. "We just saw on the news; they struck several places, including the U.N. in New York. They took Rat King, his daughter Mousedes, and several normie delegates prisoner to the baseship. Several other leaders or government officials have been taken around the world. They were foiled in Washington by the intervention of a kaiju, and the Vampire Elite Guards were able to protect the Queen and the Vampire Court."

"If he's studied Earth as much as he claims, why would Obsidious do this?", Joe asked, as Venus tended his bruised body. "He must know we have no way to attack his ship."

"That he knows of", Duncan corrected his friend. "But he's smart enough to make a contingency plan; hostages on his ship to deter any potential assault. This makes everything a lot more…..complicated."

xxXXxx

Hours later, deeper in the catacombs, Ghoulia was working with Robecca, DJ, and Elle Eedee. They were hoping to find a way to hack into the invaders' systems somehow from Hexiciah Steam's old lab.

"Ahuuuheehh?"

"I don't know, Ghoulia", Robecca replied. "Maybe Obsidious uses different frequencies. That might be why we never detected the signal from the tracking device he put on Astranova."

"Makes sense to me", Elle added in her more electronic toned voice. As a robot designed and built by robots, Elle Eedee was very different from her fellow automaton, Robecca Steam. Despite this, the two were good friends and worked well together and with Ghoulia and DJ. She had come all the way from Boo York specifically to help them try to hack in or contact Astranova.

"MEGTAF gave us that frequency, though", DJ said. "Nothing but static now, so he must have switched again. If we could just hack in to his system, get to the core programming for all his soldiers and ships, maybe we could set a self-destruct or something. **After** we find some way to free the hostages, that is."

"Well, if anyone on Earth can do it, it's us-us-us*bzzzt*", Elle began to glitch in mid-sentence, just like during the Boo York incident! A musical melody came through her, then a voice, "Can anyone hear me? I don't know how long I can keep this signal up and hidden! Please! Is anyone there?"

"Astranova!", Robecca cried.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: The losses continue. Andy Beast went down fighting like a hero, and leaves a legacy of love with Marisol Coxi. The fate of the world depends on an alliance that is historically unheard of: Humans and Monsters side-by-side!**

 **And the presence of hostages aboard the Psion baseship complicates matters! What our heroes do?**

 **Long reviews are always welcome, and I'm open to suggestions for the sequel or side-stories of my AU! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	83. Chapter 82

**_Hey, Everyone! It was one year ago that I began this epic story, my first, when I posted the Prologue. And now, here we are! 94 favorites! 362 reviews! More PM's than I can count! You LIKE ME! And you like my work! I hope it has improved as we've gone along, and will continue to improve in my future works here._**

 ** _Anyway, here we are, the climactic battle begins! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 82

A lot happened in two days. Astranova, during her short contact, had provided a technical read-out of her uncle's baseship, and basic knowledge of the on-board protocols. She also revealed where the hostages were being held on the detention level and that she would stay close to them. Then she had to break off, before her signal could be detected by her uncle's minions.

The shuttle from the failed attempt to capture members of Congress in Washington had been sent to Groom Lake. Dr. Troniquez and Dr. Mechanicles had been sent by MEGTAF to hopefully unlock the technology of the enemy.

The Ghost King, Danny Phantom, had rallied every ghost pirate and haunted warship in the Ghost World. Youngblood and all the other ghost captains accepted the mission; they would ascend invisibly and engage the baseship once most of the enemy forces lauched to attack the surface. Captain Jack beamed with pride when King Phantom gave overall command of the ghost armada to his daughter; Vandalla Doubloons, Captain of the Salty Spectre.

Obsidious sent a message on all frequencies: surrender or he would attack the entire planet in 36 hours.

The remaining human leaders and monster royals rushed to formulate a plan. Upon joining his mother at Groom Lake, DJ discovered that he could control the enemy shuttle with his cybernetic abilities. This, along with the information provided by Astronova, gave them a chance to rescue the hostages! However, they also needed a way to shut-down the factories aboard the baseship. King Phantom suggested a volunteer strike-team of ghosts led by him for that task. All that remained was assembling the rescue and sabotage teams. After that, it was just a matter of timing…..and a lot of luck.

xxXXxx

Shadow Team 5, MEGTAF's elite covert missions team, climbed aboard the captured shuttle alongside a team of the best fighters from Monster High and DJ who was acting as pilot. Joe was just outside the ramp, saying goodbye to Venus.

"They need me, Sweetie", he told her. "I'll be back, I promise."

"Just promise me you'll be careful, ok?", she asked. "I love you."

"Love you, too", he smiled then kissed her deeply. He climbed the closing ramp after breaking the kiss. He took a seat with Duncan and Clawdeen, who were the 'ranking monsters' on this mission. With them they had Abby, Heath, Manny, Deuse, Jinafire, Clawd, Frankie, Robecca, Elle, and Joe. Barnes had elected to personally take command of Shadow Team 5 for this all-important rescue mission.

"What will happen when we land without authorization?", Barnes asked.

"Probably nothing, according to Astranova", DJ replied as he fired up the engines. "The centurions and labor tech-drones have no personal initiative and will simply assume we've had a communications malfunction. Obsidious has so many of these shuttles skimming the outer atmosphere gathering intel that we can easily blend in. If all goes according to plan, we will land as most of his forces are leaving, at about the same time the 'Ghost Team' infiltrates and starts wreaking havoc in the factories."

xxXXxx

Aboard the invisibly ascending Salty Spectre, King Danny Phantom waited anxiously as he looked over his 'team': Fright Knight, Skulker, Johnny 13, Technus, Ember, Johny Spirit, Operetta, Scarah Screams, Dani, Chase Rider and Stampede. He wasn't thrilled when Dani volunteered, and tried to dissuade her until she made two very strong points; **a-** if her boyfriend could go, so should she, and **b-** they needed all the power and experience they could get for this mission. Danny caved, but firmly ordered Chase to protect her at all costs.

xxXXxx

Dawn was about to break at Groom Lake. Squadrons of F-22's, F-35's, and the one squadron of F-37's were being prepared for battle. Around the world, similar scenes were playing out with squadrons of aircraft, armored divisions, and battalions military personnel, police, and first responders alongside monsters ready to act in any capacity needed in the coming battle.

"Well, Simmons?", President Berneside asked the man-in-black as he surveyed the preparations.

"Both covert teams are on their way", he replied. "They should infiltrate the enemy baseship as the alien attack forces launch. Once they do, the ghost fleet will engage the outer defenses."

"Then it's time", the President said as he climbed up on a flatbed. "Microphone, please."

"Here you are, Sir", a Major on the ground said, handing him a CB mic connected to the PA system.

"Good Morning", he said, drawing the attention of human and monster alike. "In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join military, police, and first responder forces around the world, alongside civilian volunteers; both human and monster. We will be engaged in the largest conflict in the history of our world. 'Our World', those words should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences any longer. We will be united in our common interest. Perhaps it's Fate that today is Memorial Day, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not just from tyranny, oppression, or persecution…..but perhaps even extermination. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist and be free. And should we win the day, Memorial Day will no longer be known solely as an American holiday, but as the day when our world declared in one voice: WE WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT! WE WILL NOT VANISH WITHOUT A FIGHT! WE'RE GOING TO LIVE ON! WE'RE GOING TO SURVIVE! TODAY, WE DECLARE OUR **UNIFICATION DAY!** "

His declaration brought raucus applause and cheers, from humans and monsters alike. He stepped down, and the Major handed him a flightsuit. Agent Simmons raised an eyebrow as the Major offered the President several choices in helmets.

"Mr. President, I'd really like to know what you think you're doing?", the man in black asked the Commander-in-Chief.

"I'm a combat pilot, Simmons", he said. "I belong in the air. I'm taking one of the F-37's."

Simmons sighed with a nod, knowing the President well enough to know arguing would do no good. "Very well, Sir. Good luck, good hunting, and watch your six, Sir."

xxXXxx

"By your command."

Obsidious turned his command chair to look down at Veron.

"Speak."

"There has been no signal of surrender from the planet below. In fact, all of our probes show a massive build-up of military forces all over the planet. It seems they intend to fight."

"A shame, but not surprising given what we've learned about the native inhabitants", the militant Psion smirked. "Deploy all forces to exterminate all resistance. Launch fighters to wipe out all military forces and installations, and ground troops to the cities. Standing orders are to limit damage to structures and infrastructure as much as possible, so that our people can simply adapt them to our needs. Exterminate any natives that resist."

"By your command."

Moments later, fighters and transports poured out of the launchbays of the Psion baseship. Like angry hornets, they swarmed down toward the planet below on their mission of death and destruction.

xxXXxx

Once the bulk of Obsidious' forces had launched, DJ carefully landed in the appropriate bay and they just had to wait until there was no activity in the area.

Meanwhile, the ghost team left the still invisible Salty Spectre to fly stealthily over to the baseship and infiltrate using their powers of invisibility and intangibility to simply phase through the hull of the ship near the factories.

Captain Vandalla Doubloons' orders were clear: wait ten minutes, then make the ghost fleet visible and attack the enemy ship. Their secondary orders were to be on hand to cover an escape route for either of the covert teams. She watched as the minutes ticked by, and the vast number of enemy ships swarmed toward the surface of the planet until they were no longer visible.

"Now, you un-seaworthy brine-shrimp!", she ordered her skeleton crew. The Salty Spectre became visible, followed by all the other ghost ships in the ethereal fleet at her command. She grinned wildly as she jumped up on the rail of the helm-deck of her ship, her cutlass raised.

" **HOIST THE COLORS!** ", she shouted, the ghost crews yelled fiercely in response and dozens of pirate and old war flags were raised proudly up the masts of the ships! "LET'S SEND THESE TIN-PLATED INVADERS TO DAVY BONES LOCKER!"

"Aye-Aye!", her little ghost cuttlefish squeaked from her shoulder with a salute.

xxXXxx

Proximity alarms and claxons blared in the baseship. Veron reported to his master.

"By your command."

"Speak! What is going on?!"

"Approximately fifty ships just suddenly appeared and are surrounding us", Veron reported. "None are configured for spaceflight, yet they are there. They are firing strange weapons at us. No significant damage as yet, but they are more formidable than they appear."

"How?! Our studies showed that this planet had no combat-capable spacecraft!"

"Analysis of the ships and crews indicate that they are ectoplasmic in nature."

"So our attackers are of the monster species known as 'ghosts'. Clever", the Psion said. "That also explains how they were able to approach unnoticed until they attacked. It appears that the human and monster natives have united against us. Surprising, but futile."

"Shall I order a few squadrons of fighters to return and defend us?", Veron inquired.

"No need. Our defense turrets will deal with them until our factories came simply manufacture more fighters."

"By your command."

xxXXxx

All over planet Earth, fighter-planes of every nation engaged the disc-like Psion fighters. Losses were heavy on both sides. Having fired all of his missiles, President Berneside continued to fight, firing the F-37's pulse-blasters. While not as immediately lethal as energy-bolts fired by the enemy, they were getting the job done, enabling the pilots to hold their own.

Meanwhile, on the ground the centurions found the human and monster forces to be tenacious opponents. While the bulk of their armored bodies could resist even armor-piercing rounds used by the bulk of the military and police forces, their joints and visual sensors were vulnerable. And the energy weapons used by the MEGTAF forces were effective against them as well, despite their armor.

Alien and Earth tanks blasted away at each other in a dead-heat of effectiveness. The more powerful and advanced Psion tanks balanced by the numbers and courage of the Earth tanks and crews of every nation.

But the centurions definitely got the worst of it in any melee battles against monsters, who often had superior strength, speed, and savagery on their side, to say of those with strange and unique powers.

In the midst of all this, the kaijus tipped the balance in favor of Earth's defenders wherever they joined the fray. Their size, strength, and power smashing the robotic forces with ease; even the few flying kaijus were taking out entire wings of alien fighters.

Belloc took it upon himself to defend the Groom Lake facility from the legions sent to level the strategically important location. He grinned and roared like some ancient god of war as he smashed mechanical troops and tanks with fist, foot, and tail while his flaming breath reduced even more to molten slag.

xxXXxx

Veron and the bridge centurions were monitoring the battles planetside. The natives were putting up impressive resistance, more so than was expected. In all their study of the planet and it's militaries, they had failed to take into account intangibles; like the spirit and will of the natives to fight for their freedom.

Veron ordered the factories to activate and begin producing more forces to replace those that had fallen and reinforce those still fighting, and to defend the baseship from the ghost fleet.

xxXXxx

"Ok, this is one of the factories", Danny told his team. "The other factories are nearby. Spread out and wreck everything in sight! Our job is to stop production of more troops and weapons!"

Dani nodded as she mounted Stampede right behind Chase as they galloped away, firing ecto-rays and ghost bullets at anything that looked important! Fright Knight galloped up the assembly-line, slashing and chopping worker-drones and machinery with his sword! Scarah, Operetta, and Ember blasted everything in sight with sonics.

"Shadow!", Johnny 13 shouted, directing his shadow to fly about phasing through machinery, causing them to explode, fall-apart, short-circuit, or otherwise be affected by it's 'bad-luck' effect.

Johny Spirit flew alongside the laughing, heavily armed Skulker, blasting drones and machinery alike.

Technus interfaced with various systems, causing them to overload or short-circuit, wrecking whole sections of the assembly-lines.

King Danny Phantom and the remaining ghosts focused on destroying the main factory-line.

Of course, all this destruction set off multiple alarms…and activated the internal defenses.

xxXXxx

Still waiting inside the shuttle, the rescue team heard the intruder alarms.

"Ok, soldiers and monsters, that's our cue!", Barnes said, opening the ramp. "Let's go get those hostages!"

"If we're lucky, all the disruption the ghosts are causing will keep the attention of the remaining centurions", Duncan added. "Astranova should be near where the hostages are being held and will join us."

Shadow Team 5 locked and loaded. Abby and Heath flexed their fingers, activating their elemental powers. Clawdeen and Clawd bared their fangs and claws. Frankie sparked up her fingers and checked her med-kit, as she was also acting as the team medic. Manny stretched and flexed his muscles. Jinafire came out of her meditation. Deuse checked his sword. Duncan shifted to full-kaiju. Joe made sure his pouch-belt was secure and ready. Robecca, DJ, and Elle checked their equipment, as they were mostly along as tech-support. They all walked down the ramp and carefully approached the central hub so they could make their way to the detention level.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: IT HAS BEGUN! The final battle of this first 'Primal Hearts' story! Just a reminder: Obsidious Blackstar's mechanized troops and ships are directly inspired by the Cylons from classic 'Battlestar Galactica'(1978).**

 **President Sanderson Berneside is my OC, and a combo of the President from 'Independence Day'(hence the pre-battle speech) and the man who, in my honest opinion,** ** _should_** **have been elected in the last election.**

 **The 'F-37' is my made-up creation. It is essentially an F-22 armed with advanced MEGTAF weaponry; like the 'pulse-blasters'.**

 **Can anyone find the two Easter Eggs I used? LOL!**

 **Long reviews are always welcome! No flames, please.**

 **xxXXxx**


	84. Chapter 84

**_Hey, Everyone! Here it is! The final battle! Earth's defenders, both human and monster, are fighting valiantly! But against an enemy such as this, it's only a matter of time before Earth falls! This is our planet's darkest hour! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 84

Astranova was anxious. She had convinced her uncle to let her stay close to the prisoners, to "keep them calm and cooperative". Serepticiously, she had informed them of the planned rescue attempt so they could be ready.

Now, she was tapped into the ship's security protocols, following the progress of the rescue team, as well as hiding them from the monitor feeds with her wrist holo-computer. As per the plan, the ship and crew were aware of the attack on the factories, keeping the focus there.

Veron had activated the automated defenses of the factories, which were now giving the ghosts of the sabotage team a hard time; but the factories were effectively shut-down until the threat could be dealt with.

Thus, Veron and the crew were almost entirely focused on the attacking ghost fleet and the internal chaos in the factories.

The rescue team was following the holographic schematic Elle Eedee was projecting, and taking out any centurion guards they came across quickly and quietly. As they were all unaware of this second security breach thanks to Astranova, they were caught by surprise and easily destroyed either by blasts from the MEGTAF soldiers or the powers of the monsters before they could react, let alone raise an alarm. At one point, a door hissed open right next to Joe, who quickly impaled his solid titanium fist through the chest of the centurion.

"I've come to check on the prisoners", Astranova told the centurion guards when she entered the hub of the detention level. "Let me pass."

"By your command", the bronze guard command centurion droned, activating the door to the required passage of cells. She eyed the centurions as she passed. Per standard protocol, the 'intruder alert' triggered by the attack in the factories prompted an automatic doubling of guards in the detention level. There was now an entire platoon of centurions that the rescuers would have to deal with. It only took one to sound an alert, so they would need to take them out fast when they arrived.

"Get ready", she told the monster and normie hostages as she checked the progress of the rescue team on her wrist computer. She **would** open the cells herself, but she couldn't do it unnoticed by the guards or the bridge-crew, not without help. "They're almost here."

xxXXxx

Back on Earth, Ghoulia was helping with the coordination of the military forces battling the aliens around the world from Groom Lake. Even the MEGTAF officers were astounded at how fast and analytical her mind was! She was easily handling all coordination with the monster forces involved in the many battles.

Meanwhile, Boodika and the Monster High Magickal Studies class/coven were in mystical contact with covens of witches, wizards, and other magick-users who were maintaining mystical "no-fly zones" over most of the major cities on the planet, forcing the invaders to rely entirely on ground-troops and tanks without support from the sky. On the ground, the normie and monster forces were holding their own well enough. And in places where kaijus had joined the fight, the invaders were being crushed with ease.

xxXXxx

"COME ABOUT!", Vandalla commanded. "PREPARE TO BROADSIDE! A BARREL OF RUM & COLA TO EVERY ONE OF YOU USELESS SEA-DOGS THAT TAKES OUT ONE A' THEIR GUN-TURRETS! **FIRE!** "

The ghost fleet was holding their own. They were keeping the outer defenses busy and causing a fair amount of surface damage to the baseship. But despite the spectral nature of the ships, they were taking some damage in return. Captain Vandalla Doubloons knew they did not have armaments strong enough to destroy the enemy baseship. She could only hope, for the sake of her fleet and her friends, that someone had a plan to finish off these invaders at some point. If not, then they were only delaying the inevitable.

xxXXxx

"This is it", Elle said. "This door leads to the main hub of the detention level. Astranova just flashed a message to me that there's a whole platoon of guards inside."

"Ok", Duncan said. "DJ and Elle; hack the door and open it as soon as Shadow Team 5 and those of us with ranged powers are in position to blast them all before they can trigger an alarm."

A few moments of positioning later, Duncan nodded to their tech-support. Elle and DJ needed only a few seconds to hack the door. It hissed open, the platoon of centurions turned to look. The pulse-rifles carried by the MEGTAF black-ops team all fired instantly, each felling a robot. Duncan and Heath each shot fire-balls, downing more as Abby froze one solid. Frankie blasted the bronze commander with a lightning bolt, causing him to seize up and collapse, while a titanium Joe rushed in to knock the head off the final mech.

The rescue team swarmed inside. Two MEGTAF soldiers stayed just inside to secure the door.

DJ and Elle led the others over to one of the secured doors across the hub. They hacked and opened this one just as easily. DJ grinned. Obsidious must not have thought anyone would be crazy enough to attempt anything like this on his own ship, or else he'd have tighter security. Once the door opened, they saw Astranova part way down the corridor.

"Thank the stars you're here!", she breathed, then gestured to either side of the hall. "Everyone is in these six cells."

"OK, Elle, lets get these open!", DJ grinned. Within a few minutes, all the hostages were free.

"Oh, Duncan!", Nefera gushed, about to throw herself at the Kaiju Prince. "I knew you would come for me! I could just **kiss** you!"

"Don't even think about it, Nefera!", Clawdeen growled menacingly.

"Deuce!", Cleo cried happily as she rushed into the arms of her love and crushed her lips to his.

"Very brave of you to take part in our rescue, Mr. Gorgon", Ramses smiled. "But I suppose I should expect no less from the son of Perseus."

"Kenny!", Frankie cried with concern when she saw the vertical cut on his left cheek. She ran to him with her med-kit. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"I'm ok, Frankie", he said sheepishly, wincing as she gently began treating the cut. "Just a few bumps, scratches, and bruises."

"You are too modest, my boy", Ramses said. "He valiantly tried to defend us alongside my guards when the robots came. Were he not so quick, the crystal bayonet would have impaled his head, rather than causing a mere scratch when he saved Cleo from that mechanical heathen. I had not thought normies capable of such courage."

"He's right, Kenny", Margaret said proudly. "You were quite the hero."

"Dude", Deuce smiled, offering a fist-bump. "Thanks for saving my ghoul."

"You'll need stitches eventually", Frankie said after cleaning and dressing the cut. "But I think you'll be ok, Sweetie."

"Thanks, Babe", he smiled, kissing her.

Frankie treated a few more minor injuries among the prisoners, then they were ready to move. They all headed back to the hub and the exit. They were almost out when the bronze commander began to slowly reboot from the zap he got from Frankie.

"Intruder Alert! Prisoners escaping!", he droned and pressed a button on the console, activating an alert klaxon! Deuce spun and quickly decapitated him with his sword. Elle ran over to the console and deactivated the klaxon. Glancing at the panel quickly, she flipped a switch.

"System Malfunction. Condition normal", she droned in a voice modulation similar to the centurions.

"Bridge to Detention", the deeper drone of a command centurion droned through the comm. "What happened? What is your status?"

"Our systems had a momentary surge, which triggered the alert", Elle droned. "The problem has been corrected. Condition normal and status: secure. How are you?"

Everyone cringed. If they were lucky, Elle's slip wouldn't be noti…

"What is you operating number? And where is you command centurion?"

Barnes grunted in frustration as he blasted the console. "It was a boring conversation anyway. Let's move before we have company! Back to the hanger!"

"No!", Astranova interjected. "The bridge-crew will respond to this breach by sealing the hangers! I'm jamming all the security monitors on several levels, including this one. There's another way out that I'm sure neither my uncle nor his centurions will consider. Follow me!"

xxXXxx

"Commander Veron, communcations with the detention level have been cut off after suspicious activity and contact", the gold command centurion droned deeply. "And security monitors are not functioning on surrounding levels and sections."

"We must assume the prisoners have escaped. Lock down the hangers and order all security centurions to the blacked-out areas", Veron ordered.

"By your command."

xxXXxx

In the factories, the spread-out ghosts had their hands full with the automated defense systems. Wall-mounted blasters were firing randomly at them. At the same time, mechanical capture-claws whipped about on the ends of long tendrils.

"I can't breach the firewalls of these defense systems!", Technus yelled in dismay. No technology had ever resisted his powers before! "I can't turn them off!"

"Keep trying, Technus!", Danny yelled. "We might get lucky!"

"Don't bark orders at me, child!", the techno-ghost hissed. "You may be King, but I know what I'm doing!"

For every weapon that Danny or the others blasted, another took it's place! Fright Knight and Johnny 13's shadow were able to take out several tendrils at a time, but more regenerated. On the plus side, the internal battle was still causing enough damage to the factories to keep them off-line, so the invading forces weren't getting any reinforcements. They were all beginning to tire; not even full ghosts have unlimited endurance.

A cry of pain and fear reached Danny's ears that made his half-human/half-ectoplasmic blood run cold.

"Dani!", he shouted, about to race to her through a wide-open field of fire.

"No, My Liege!", Fright Knight said, his ghost-nightmare horse rearing beneath him. "You are needed here! I shall go to the Princess!"

With that, the Fright Knight rode to the far end of the next factory-line, where Dani had gone with Chase Rider to cripple it. He found them pinned down behind some machinery; Chase valiantly firing ghost bullets at high speed, trying to defend them. Dani was crouched behind him, gripping her shoulder in pain. Even Stampede was kicking ghost horse-shoes at the wall-weapons and clawed tendrils as best he could.

Fright Knight charged in, slashing away multiple tendrils with one swipe as he dismounted on the fly. He and his horse joined the children behind the wrecked machines, his sword slashing the tendrils almost as fast as they regenerated. His horse breathed flames at both tendrils and wall-blasters.

"You fight valiantly, boy", he said to Chase. "Your courage is worthy of a knight! How is the Princess?"

"She took a blast to the shoulder tryin' to protect me", he said sheepishly. "She saw it comin' while I was blastin' somethin' else, knocked me aside. I feel awful ab….."

"Forget about it, Chase", she said through clenched teeth. "Give me a minute, and I'll be up and ready to fight."

"You have the courage of your father, Princess", Fright Knight said, his smile hidden by his dark helmet.

xxXXxx

After they mowed through several squads of centurions at different points along the way, Astranova led them to a particular hallway in a section two levels down from detention.

"Escape-pods?", Cleo inquired.

"Yes", Astranova said. "All of us should be able to fit in these ten pods. They will take us all safely down to the planet's surface."

"But we'll be sitting scarabs for all the guns out there!", Nefera griped.

"No, the ship's core programming prevents the weapon systems from firing on escape pods", Astranova reassured her. "It's—how do you say?—'hard-wired' that way. The bridge will know they've launched, but won't be able to do anything about it."

"What about your blocking the security feeds?", Duncan asked.

"It will clear up as soon as I'm no longer on the baseship."

"Why didn't they lock these down along with the hangers?", Barnes asked.

"This may be a military ship, but it's based on the Psion exploration/colonization city-ship", she replied. "So easy-access to the escape-pods is 'hard-wired' as well."

"Ok, everyone load up and launch", Clawdeen told everyone. "Duncan and I will keep watch and be right behind you on the last pod."

All but the last pod was filled and launched in short-order.

"Is that everyone?", Duncan asked as the last of the rescuers and former prisoners entered the last pod.

"Yup!", Clawdeen smiled as she embraced her love. "We did it, Hot-Stuff! We saved everyone!"

"Good! I love you, Clawdeen", he smiled, and kissed her deeply with sweet passion. He poured all his love into that kiss, and she melted into his embrace. Then he pushed her into the pod with Astranova and the last of the others and sealed the door!

 _"_ _ **Duncan!**_ _"_ , Clawdeen shouted at him on the other side of the round window in the double-door. "What the **hell** do you think you're **doing** , you magnificent idiot?!"

"I'm **_ending_** this", he said. "I'm gonna **_blow_** this ship to kingdom come. See you when I get home."

With that, he pressed the pod's launch-button.

"I LOVE YOU, DUNCAN!", she shouted tearfully as the pod dropped away toward the planet below. Clawdeen turned and sobbed into Frankie's shoulder, Margaret and Kenny joining in to hug her compassionately.

"Not vorry, Clawdeen", Abby told her encouragingly. "Duncan is strong. He vill succeed and come home to give you huggink and kissink."

"I hope so", the Alpha werewolf whispered tearfully, looking back toward the baseship through the pod's window. "Because if he dies, I'll kill 'im."

Duncan watched through the window as the pod carrying his true love dropped away, his clawed hand on the glass. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew he probably would not make it home to Clawdeen. He let his breath out slowly, clenching his fist just as slowly. When he opened his eyes, they were burning with emerald fire. He took off at full speed.

He was never a great student, but he did have a photographic memory for pictures. He was heading to the power-core, and woe to any centurions that stand in his way!

xxXXxx

"By your command."

Obsidious rotated his command chair away from the screens displaying the battles outside and planet-side to look down at Veron.

"Speak."

"A team of humans and monsters somehow infiltrated the ship and freed the prisoners almost entirely undetected. Moments ago, ten escape pods were launched from the bay closest to the detention level."

"The prisoners are of no consequence", Obsidious said. "Once the intruders in the factories and the fleet outside are dealt with, the resistance below will be crushed in short order. I observed a squadron of our fighters destroying a so-called 'kaiju' only moments ago."

"True, Supreme Commander Obsidious", Veron replied. "However, I must remind you that the rescue team could only have succeeded in their task so efficiently and without detection with the aid of someone aboard this ship."

"Astranova, my 'beloved' niece", the Psion hissed. "Again, it is of no consequence. She will be returned to me sooner or later."

"However", Veron continued uncertainly, "moments after the ten pods were launched, the interference with our security monitors cleared. It seems there is a single monster still on board."

"What?! Show me!"

He turned back to his screens and a few now displayed a red-orange, winged, reptilian individual going through the ship at a rather impressive rate; and he was cutting down centurions with ease without even stopping! Obsidious growled as he rose to his full ten-foot height. He recognized Duncan from the night he arrived and captured his niece! He remembered watching this boy easily destroy a third of his escort singlehandedly with a combination of skill, strength, and—literally—firepower!

"It looks as though he has a specific destination in mind", Obsidious observed.

"From what we can determine, he appears to be heading for the ship's power-core", Veron stated.

"Graaaugh!", the warlord growled. This ship was powerful enough to survive virtually **anything** … **_except_** the destruction of it's own power-reactor. If it overloaded, it would explode and take the whole ship with it! Even if it or the surrounding systems were destroyed without exploding, the ship could be crippled permanently!

"Shall I send all remaining centurions to protect the core?", Veron inquired.

"No. In an open space like the power-core chamber, this boy would only them cut down like insects, and he would reach the core anyway", Obsidious levitated down from his command chair. "I will deal with this **impudent** monster **_myself!_** Order our centurions to delay him in the passageways until I reach the core!"

"By your command."

xxXXxx

Duncan would not be deterred from his goal. He was occasionally slowed when the numbers of centurions in his path became so dense as to crowd the corridors. Blast of flames. Punch. Kick. Claw swipes. Fire-balls. He was agile enough to weave through them as he fought. The rifle blasts that he was unable to completely dodge stung painfully, and he had collected many small cuts and scratches from their crystal bayonets. Still, they all fell before his fury. And then…..the corridors were clear.

Sensing something amiss, he slowed his pace slightly, keeping his senses sharp for a trap or ambush. By the time he was just outside the power-core chamber, all his minor wounds nearly healed, still nothing. No further resistance. Something was up. They way they had been throwing everything at him before they **had** to have figured out where he was going! Nothing. Not even an operations drone. Was it possible he had scrapped the last of their forces? No, they were probably waiting for him on the other side of that door; an entire legion, armed to the teeth…uh, electronic voice modulators. No matter. **They** would have to be careful not to damage the core as they fought, leaving him free to scrap them then deal with the core.

He no longer had DJ and Elle to hack the doors, so he closed his eyes. He was already fully transformed, but now he used the techniques Jinafire had taught him to focus his chi and tap deeper into his kaiju blood, his inner fire, for strength. He opened his eyes and growled as he forced his claws into the seam between the sliding doors and in a burst of increased strength, he forced them open! The mechanisms shorted as they failed to withstand the onslaught of the Kaiju Prince. He roared as he entered in a Dragon-Fist 'ready' stance, a fire-ball in his throat, prepared to take on an army!

Nothing. The chamber was empty, aside from the thrumming of the core itself and the machinery that regulated it. He stayed on high alert as he stalked into the chamber, his senses taking in everything around him. The strict, regimented corridors gave way to the curvy, chaotic appearing wide twists and turns in the chamber, the ceiling cavernously high and shrouded in shadows, as were other areas in the open—yet cluttered—chamber. Deep in the center, he saw the wide space holding the huge, spherical power-core reactor. Indecipherable lights glowed or flashed green or white everywhere in synch with the hum of the machines.

Wait! In that shadowed place just ahead to the right…..he knew that blood/fire-red glow anywhere!

"The Heart of Fire!", he breathed, in a mixture of confusion and relief.

"Is that what this trinket is called?", a now familiar, and hated voice asked. Duncan snarled as Obsidious Blackstar levitated into view from the shadow.

"How **_dare_** you wear so sacred an object as if it were a….a damned **_trophy!_** _"_ , the kaiju prince growled, seeing the Heart of Fire, the single greatest artifact of his father's race, **his** race….hanging on a chain around this invading warlord's neck!

"Why not? It is useless for anything else", the alien sneered. "The vast power within it **cannot** be tapped."

"Not by an alien invader", Duncan spit venomously.

"It matters not", Obsidious chuckled malevolently. "You will not get past me. The ghost fleet outside is weakening. And it won't be long before your friends in the factories are dealt with. Then the assembly lines will begin to rapidly produce more centurions, ships, and weapons. All resistance on the planet below will be crushed shortly thereafter. However, you will not be alive to see my victory."

Obsidious Blackstar then fired a blast from his right hand, and then his left. Duncan dodged desperately, as his foe kept trying to blast him the same way he had killed his friends before. He took wing and flew into the shadows near the ceiling, dodging blasts all the way.

"Pathetic monster!", Blackstar sneered. "For one so powerful, you lack even the courage of that living rag-doll!"

Duncan seethed at this mention of HooDude, but kept his cool and stayed hidden. If he simply charged in, Obsidious would kill him with a blast of cosmic energy, just like he had to his friends. He needed a plan if he was going to defeat this bastard and destroy this ship!

xxXXxx

President Bernside and his squadrons continued to fight as best they could, but their losses were increasing. They had held out, and the opposing forces no longer appeared endless, having been thinned to sporadic squadrons. The president could only assume that the sabotage team had been successful in stopping the aliens' factories. But if they started producing reinforcements, the Earth was doomed.

All over the planet it was the same; heavy losses to what had originally appeared infinite alien forces opposing the defenders. But the losses to the defenders were mounting. Losses of pilots, soldiers, police, and monsters. Even the kaijus were beginning to tire or suffer wounds against this mechanized alien onslaught. Morantix, an insect kaiju resembling a dragonfly with the stinger of a hornet and the claws of a scorpion, had actually been killed after destroying several squadrons of alien fighter-ships when the remaining fighters all converged and concentrated their fire on him. Their blasters shredded his wings first, grounding him, then they simply strafed him to death.

xxXXxx

"Come out, little reptile", Obsidious jeered, as he looked about at all the shadowed areas, trying to see Duncan. "All things must die sooner or later. Why not make it easy on yourself? I shall be merciful and quick."

"Not today, Obsidious!", Duncan shouted as he flew out of the shadows and body-checked the surprised, ten-foot alien; knocking him down! He flew away just as quickly, doing cork-screws and barrel-rolls in the air to avoid the Psion's energy blasts as he got back to his feet. Duncan disappeared into the shadows again to loop around for another pass, this time coming in low from the side and sweeping his opponent's legs out from under him! Obsidious growled with rage as he again had to pick himself up off the floor, trying to blast the artfully dodging winged monster!

'He's too strong and resilient', Duncan thought to himself, as he turned high in the air to gain speed and power as he decided to risk a direct attack. 'This worked on Astoroth. Maybe it will take out Obsidious!'

Duncan turned himself into a flying drill-bit, shooting fire-balls from his mouth to hopefully hurt or distract Osidious as he came at him at blurring speed!

Obsidious yelled angrily as he was struck by the fire-balls just before Duncan slammed into him. They tumbled briefly, as the raging Psion got a firm grip on the boy and slammed him to his back on the floor. Then he got his hands around Duncan's neck.

"I will **crush** you with my **_bare hands!_** _"_ , Obsidious hissed as he choked Duncan. The kaiju prince could do nothing but claw ineffectually at the arms holding him, as anything more vital on the alien was out of his reach. The alien was stronger than him, and had reach and leverage in his favor. " **Die, monster!** "

xxXXxx

"Cap'n!"

Vandalla turned to the skeletal crewman who had addressed her. "Aye, matey?"

"Cap'n Youngblood and several others are reporting heavy damage to their vessels, Cap'n", he told her. "They be not crippled yet, but can't last much longer. They want to know your orders?"

Vandalla pondered what to do. There had been cheers through the fleet when they saw the escape-pods launch and drop toward Earth, but there had been no word from the ghostly sabotage team. Although the lack of newly manufactured forces pouring from the baseship was proof of their success; the fact they had not yet returned spoke volumes. Either they had run into trouble, or there was no way to permanently cripple the factories and it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed by the enemy.

The fleet was weakening, but they had to do something. There was only one thing left that she could think of, and it would proably do nothing more than buy more time for their allies down on the planet.

"Send word to all ships in the fleet: Prepare to **ram!** "

"Aye-Aye, Cap'n", the skeleton gulped.

xxXXxx

"First, those three young fools", Obsidious sneered. "Then that hairy giant. And now, **you**. It's a pity you monsters **die** so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction **now**!"

Duncan kept struggling, even as he was on the verge of blacking out. He managed to get his right foot up against the alien's chest just as his flailing hands grabbed the handles of the Heart of Fire.

The blood-red glow flared into bright, golden light, surprising Obsidious and loosening his grip! Duncan used his leg to shove Obsidious away from him, snapping the chain around his neck!

(cue song by Stan Bush)

 _You got the touch!_

Duncan stood, holding the Heart of Fire, bathed in it's golden light. He felt power beyond **anything** he'd ever known surge within him. He gained more muscle mass and his armor became more dense as his shirt and coat shredded from the stress. His claws, spikes, wings, and forearm ridges all got bigger and more prominent, and horn-like spikes grew from his elbows as if they were extensions of his forearms. Finally, a powerful tail; much like his father's, burst through the back of his black cargo-pants!

" **Arise, Crown Prince Duncan** ", a deep voice that he knew well, despite having heard it only twice in his life, rumbled from the ether into his mind.

"Primalus!", he breathed in awe.

 _You got the power!_

 _Yeah!_

"NO!", Obsidious shouted, as he realized that this boy had not only accessed the vast power in the artifact—something that not all of his advanced technology had been able to do—but he was actually **absorbing** it and becoming more powerful! He fired several bolts of energy at Duncan, only for them to dissipate in contact with the power of the Heart.

"This is the **_end_** for you, Obsidious!", Duncan snarled as he dropped the still brightly shining artifact of his ancestors to charge at the alien warlord. He slammed a right-hook into Obsidious' face, then a left into his abdomen; both strikes causing painful if minor fractures to the Psion's crystalline flesh.

 _After all is said and done, you've never walked, you've never run_

Duncan then grabbed Obsidious by his belt and throat, lifted him over his head, and threw him like a spear into the power-core. The screaming Psion warlord smashed right through the outer casing to find himself in the raging energy that powered the entire ship! His race may absorb ambient cosmic radiation for sustenance, but this was far beyond that ability! Obsidious screamed in agony.

 _You're a winner!_

 _Got the moves, you know the street. Break the rules, take the heat!_

 _You're nobody's fool!_

"Now, light our darkest hour!", Duncan said as he lifted the Heart and pulled the silver handles, causing the segmented orb to split apart down the middle, releasing the full power of the gem. Of it's own volition, the fiery gem entered Duncan's chest, causing him to exclaim in surprise as it merged with his own fiery heart. The power was unbelievable! And it was **his** now, a part of him forever! He looked at the hole in the core made by Obsidious' forcible entry, and breathed…..not much fire as a stream of superheated, explosive plasma!

 _You're at your best, when the going gets rough!_

 _You've been put to the test, but it's never enough!_

 _You got the touch, you got the power!_

Such a massive influx of energy exceeded the limits of the core! Systems all over the ship began to overload and explode! The computer-core tried to compensate, and failed miserably as it too overloaded and exploded spectacularly!

 _When all hell's breakin' loose, you'll be right in the eye of the storm!_

Planet-side, the mechanized forces suddenly just…stopped. Fighter-craft crashed and exploded, tanks shut-down and exploded, and centurions suddenly froze and collapsed like puppets with cut strings!

 _You got the heart, you got the motion!_

Outside, Vandalla was about to give the order to ram to all the ships of the ghost fleet, when she and all the others saw multiple explosions going off all through the baseship!

 _You know that when things get too tough, you got the Touch!_

In the factories, the ghosts were still fighting for their un-lives and were now losing ground fast. Danny and a few others were suddenly pinned to the wall by clawed tendrils. They were finished. But then the tendrils, wall-blasters, and factory lines themselves began to all explode in a chain reaction!

 _You never bend, you never break! You seem to know just what it takes_

"Dani! Chase!", Danny called as he saw them galloping toward him on Stampede alongside the Fright Knight.

"Dad!"

"King Phantom! What's going on?", Chase asked worriedly.

"No time to answer that now! Let's get outta here!", Danny replied. The gathered ghosts galloped or flew back the way they'd come when they entered with as much speed as they could muster.

 _You're a fighter!_

"Look!", Dani cried as she pointed to something approaching.

 _It's in the blood, it's in the will! It's in the mighty hands of steel_

The ghosts stopped to look and saw Duncan flying toward them, his huge wings pumping majestically as he kept ahead of the chain-reaction of destruction.

 _When you're standin' you're ground!_

 _And you never get hit, when your back's to the wall!_

"This whole place is gonna blow any minute!", he told them as he reached their position. "Let's go home!"

 _Gonna fight to the end, and you're takin' it all!_

"Somehow I **knew** it would be **_you_** who saved us all, my friend!", Danny smirked as they all followed Duncan.

 _You got the touch, you got the power!_

 _When all hell's breakin' loose, you'll be right in the eye of the storm!_

They finally saw the large viewport window they had phased through to enter up ahead. Duncan wasn't stopping! He again turned himself in a high-speed flying drill-bit of death and took a deep breath just before he punched right through it with the ghosts right behind him!

 _You got the heart, you got the motion!_

 _You know that when things get too tough, you got the Touch!_

Deep inside the overloading power-core, Obsidious was still alive as he was being agonizingly disintegrated by the out of control energies.

"NOOOO! MY DESTINY!", he screamed, just before the core itself finally exploded, rending his body completely apart at the molecular level. His final thoughts were of wondering how could such primitive beings have brought him to **_this?_**

 _You fighting fire with fire!_

 _You know you got the touch!_

Vandalla had seen them escape through her spy-glass and brought her ship in to pick them up, just as the entire baseship exploded in a blinding, fiery blast of energy and debris.

 _You're at your best, when the going gets rough!_

 _You've been put to the test, but it's never enough!_

"Great timing, Captain", Danny said as he and the other ghosts boarded the Salty Spectre.

"Tweren't nothin' your Majesty!", the ghost-pirate girl smiled. "I was 'appy ta be of service. But 'ow didja manage to destroy that oversized wind-up toy?"

"It wasn't us", Danny smiled. "It was Duncan. Wait…"

"Where is Duncan?", Dani cried.

 _You got the touch!_

 _You got the power!_

 _Yeah!_

The blast and shockwave, which'd had little effect on the intangible ghosts, had knocked Duncan into Earth's gravity. His friends on the Salty Spectre saw him, but there was nothing they could do; none of the ghost ships were close enough or fast enough to catch him.

Duncan tucked into 'cannonball' position, wrapped his wings and tail around himself and prayed to the Mother Goddess that he would survive re-entry. If he could make it to the lower-atmoshere, he knew he could slow his descent before impact.

Below on the planet surface, not far from Monster High, Clawdeen and the others had exited the escape pods. They looked up to see what appeared to be a meteor-shower to end all meteor-showers. Clawdeen knew what it meant.

"He did it", she whispered. "He actually did it. And he **did** get out before it blew….I can feel it."

"Look!", DJ yelled, pointing to a 'meteor' coming down at a strange angle, different from the rest.

"What is it, DJ?", Clawdeen asked, knowing his cybernetic vision had greater range than hers.

"That's **Duncan!** ", he said with a mixture of awe and concern. "Comin' in ** _hot!_** _"_

Clawdeen ran with all the speed she could manage, tapping the deep reservoir of her power as the Alpha, following Duncan's flight-path as best she could!

Duncan felt as if he'd been baked well-done by the time he began to cool, indicating he'd reached the lower-atmosphere. He spread his wings and extended his tail and spread his arms and legs wide to slow his descent. It wouldn't be enough, so he switched tactics. He angled to turn his fall into a long, fast glide to give himself more distance to slow down. He aimed for the ocean.

Clawdeen ran, maintaining full speed despite her burning lungs and legs. She suddenly realized she was headed for Gloom Beach!

"Aw, man! This is gonna **hurt!** ", Duncan said to himself as he crashed through several palm trees, deeply skimmed a sand-dune, then plowed into the surf! He finally stopped about a hundred yards out. He surfaced and spit water, his breathing labored from the exertion. He swam to shore. Clawdeen arrived just as he was dragging himself onto the sand.

"Duncan! Thank the Great Mother you're alright!", she cried as reached him. She grabbed his head and kissed him fiercely on the lips. Then she slapped him, none to gently either! "DON'T YOU **EVER** SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN! What the **hell** were you **thinkin'?!** "

"Sorry! I'll tell you as soon as the other four of you go away", he smiled weakly. "One angry Clawdeen is **more** than enough!"

"Very funny, you magnificent idiot!", she couldn't help but smile. "Haven't you learned by now that **bad** stuff happens to you whenever you leave me behind and do something reckless?!"

"I wasn't being reckless this time!", he said, but her deadpan look told him she wasn't buying it. "Ok, maybe a little. But it was a **calculated** risk. We all knew the only way to really end this would be to destroy the baseship. I just figured the only way would be by blowing the power-core."

"Fine. But why trick me and send me away? I could've helped you!"

"Weeeelllll….that's where I calculated", he said, thinking quickly, trying to find the right words. "I figured even if I succeeded that there was a chance I might not escape in time. I have no problem risking my own life, but yours? I couldn't risk you dying, at any odds. I love you too much."

"That's sweet, Duncan", she smiled sweetly…..then put two clawed fingers under his chin and tilted his head up. "But we're **_life-mates_**. From now on, we calculate risks **_together_** , got it, Hot-Stuff?"

"Uhm….yes, dear", he squeaked with a crooked smile, making her grin and kiss him passionately again.

"That's a good boy", she smirked. Then she really noticed. "Um, Sweetie? I like the new muscles, but since when do you have a **tail**?"

"It's a long story", he chuckled.

xxXXxx

In a remote canyon, a single escape pod opened. Veron stepped out, followed by a small cadre of centurions and a gold command centurion. Veron had calculated that there was a chance that the monster would defeat or get past his master and destroy the core; and thereby the ship. So as a precaution, Veron was able to separate himself from the primary computer along with these few centurions and slave them to his own program. His master was no doubt dead, but now Veron himself could rebuild the mechanized forces and take this planet.

"Greetings, Veron."

The thinking machine whirled at hearing his name. Lord Stoker stepped into view with a sinister smirk on his face.

"Who are you and what do you want of me, vampire?"

"My collegues and I vould like a vord vith you", he grinned. Revolta, Remus Darkclaw, Argost, Vlad Plasmius, Zombozo, and Moanica D'Kay appeared beside him.

"And what logical reason would I have to listen?", Veron said. "What could a mere six monsters possibly have to offer me?"

"Offer?!", Remus growled snidely, then chuckled. "We're not here to offer you anything, robot."

"And there aren't six of us", Revolta laughed evilly. "There are **seven**."

"What do you mean there are sev….?", then he heard, or rather **_felt_** a deep rumbling behind him and his centurions. He turned…..to see the massive form of a kaiju staring down at him, as if he and his centurions were no more than insects. If Veron were capable of fear, he would've been terrified!

"You and your master nearly ruined my carefully laid plans when you came to this planet, Veron", the giant growled. "As it is, your little invasion brought humans and monsters together against a common foe, which will make my plans more difficult and complicated now! Your **fool** of a master already paid the price for his hubris. Now, you will **join** him!"

The last thing Veron saw and heard was an earth-shattering roar and a huge foot coming down on him.

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: I confess, this chapter was heavily inspired by the final battle in the animated, 1986 'Transformers' movie. I also included an easter egg for sci-fi fans! The kaiju Morantix was inspired by 'Megaguirus', who fought Godzilla in the movie "Godzilla vs Megaguirus".**

 **Just one or two more chapters to wrap things up, and my first story here will be complete!**

 **Long reviews are welcome as always! I'm also open to suggestions to include in the sequels!**

 **xxXXxx**


	85. Chapter 85: Epilogue

**_Hey, Everyone! This is it. The conclusion of my very first literary effort for public reading_** ** _ever!_** ** _I appreciate all of you who came along for the ride; all your reviews, favorites, followers, and words of encouragement! Don't worry! There is more to come from my vast, inspired, and sometimes twisted imagination!_**

Chapter 85: Epilogue

In the weeks following the victory over Obsidious Blackstar and his forces, a great many things happened.

Astranova took some time to herself. Despite all the gratitude everyone showed for all her help, she needed to grieve; not only the loss of HooDude, whom she realized she'd loved, but also any chance of ever being reunited with her parents or people. As her foster family, as it were, Grace Bloodgood and Robecca gave her all the loving support she needed.

Citations, medals, and awards were given to many who deserved them around the world for their heroism during this overall crisis, both humans and monsters. The entire rescue team was particularly honored. The members of MEGTAF's Shadow Team 5 were all awarded Distinguished Service Crosses, with Col. Barnes himself awarded the Medal of Honor. The monster members were all presented Presidential Citizens Medals while Duncan himself was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bernside for risking his life to destroy the invading baseship.

A week later, classes resumed at Monster High. Due to the invasion, school was extended an extra two weeks to make up lost time. After final hex-ams were over, the 'end-of-the-year' party also celebrated the victory.

Duncan had surprisingly little trouble adjusting to his new level of power and physical changes. His build had permanently gone from 'Bruce Lee' to 'Van Damme-in-his-prime', but other than that; he was able to revert to the 'base-form' he was used to. His training with Jinafire would help him gain finer control of his new strength and power. Clawdeen had a new challenge altering all his pants and shorts to keep him covered **and** allow him to grow his new tail, as well as slightly enlarging the openings in his shirts and jackets for his now larger wings.

Right now, he was a bit uncomfortable in his Egyptian-inspired tux, despite Clawdeen's expert alterations. He and many of his friends were in Boo York, attending the wedding of Catty Noir and Seth Ptolemy; whose stage name was 'Pharaoh'. The couple had asked Cleo and Deuce to be their Maid of Honor and Best Man-ster. Clawdeen, Frankie, Draculaura, and Operetta were asked to be bridesmaids along with Astranova, Elle Eedee, and Luna Mothews, who took time out of her busy Bloodway career to attend. Only Astranova declined, as she was still mourning, but agreed to attend as a guest. Having few friends, Seth invited the ghoul's boyfriends to fill out the ranks his groomsmen.

Seth was dressed in his royal Egyptian best, while Catty was dressed like an ancient Egyptian princess and, as a child of Bast like all cats and werecats, her Egyptian circlet-tiara bore the likeness of the cat goddess. Clawdeen had designed and made the dresses for the entire wedding-party with help from Skelita and Jinafire.

The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception party was in full swing. Holt and Claire laying down some serious DJ jams with Elle Eedee! The food, the dancing, the toasts, everyone was happy and having fun….except Astranova. She sat off to the side alone, not wanting to dampen the party with her sad mood.

Silvi, Marisol, and the Kobold sisters had already joined her in solidarity and support of each other after their common losses. However, they were back in New Salem right now, so she felt very alone in her grief. Clawdeen and the others all saw her, and felt for the ghoul. Astranova was sadly imagining what a wedding for her and HooDude might have been like, and tears rolled down her cheeks imagining how happy they could have been. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the gentle, knowing eyes of Duncan.

"May I sit?", he asked softly. She nodded with a small smile of gratitude. After a few silent moments, he took a deep breath.

"Have you heard the story about my first girlfriend?", he asked.

"A bit", she replied. "Just that she died before you came to New Salem and that it hurt you a lot, so you understand how I feel right now."

"There's more to it", he said, telling her the whole story of meeting and dating Jenna, up until she died in his arms on that most horrible day.

"I feel your loss", the alien ghoul said. "How did you get over something so painful?"

"I didn't", he said. "It nearly **_broke_** me. I thought I **was** broken; cursed to live a life of loneliness and pain. I was in a really dark place when I came to Monster High. Then….I met Clawdeen(he looked lovingly at his mate, who smiled back). She was like a ray of light piercing the darkness to guide me back. It wasn't until my near-death experience that I learned Jenna had given Fate a nudge to get me and Clawdeen together, knowing we would be happy together."

"So you're saying I should move on and find someone else?", she asked bitterly.

"No", he replied, again putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm saying that things can and will get better in time. Just let things unfold in their own time. In the meantime, grieve as long as you need to. Just remember you have friends who support and care about you, ok?"

"Thanks, Duncan", Astranova said in gratitude. "I think I'm ready to join the party now."

"Great", he smiled. "Come on. May I have the first dance?"

"Will your mate be ok with it?", she chuckled, looking over at Clawdeen.

"Already ran it by her", he grinned. "She's cool. Just keep your hands above the belt, ok?*chuckle*"

xxXXxx

The day after the wedding, after spending a gloriously passionate night together in their suite in Ptolemy Tower, Duncan and Claween were embracing in the boarding gate area of the Boo York Airport. Most of their friends went home to New Salem, while a few went home to their parents in other countries for the summer. But for Duncan and Clawdeen, it was different. She was on her way to the Temple of the Moon to train under Fenris Silvermane in her duties as the Alpha for the next four weeks, while Duncan had agreed to do the same, being trained by his father in the Valley of the Gods in the Scare-izona/Nevada dessert for the same four weeks. They would depart on separate planes on opposite sides of the terminal.

"This isn't gonna be easy for me", she said.

"It'll be just as hard for me, my love", he said with a small smile. "But we have responsibilities to our peoples; the werewolves and kaijus. I promise we'll keep in touch with the crystal mirrors. Just remember, after this we have the rest of the summer together."

"Mmmmmm", she moaned, kissing him deeply. "I'm lookin' forward to that, Hot-Stuff."

"Me too, my Sweet She-Wolf."

 _"Attention, all passengers! Now boarding at Gate 6, Flight 13B to Lost Plague-as. Also boarding, at Gate 13, Flight 666 to Wolfburg by way of Londoom."_

"I guess that's both of us", Duncan sighed. "I love you, Clawdeen."

"I love you, too, Duncan", she smiled warmly before they shared one last, deep, lingering kiss.

Thoughts of each other and everything they'd been through lingered in their heads during their respective flights. Even a month of training, longingly separated from each other, would seem like a vacation after some of the events of the past year. But thanks to their trip to Ever After, and the Storybook of Legends, they both knew there was more to come. Hopefully, the Gods and Goddesses willing, it would be a while until anything major happened to them.

xxXXxx

Dr. Philip Moreau was in a good mood! Not only had he and Dr. Mechanicles avoided being implicated in their alliance with Van Hellscream, but Moreau's parent's estate was finally out of probate, giving him everything as their sole heir, including the family mansion….and it's library. Somewhere there, were his grandfather's notes and journals, possibly even a chart to his former island lab facility!

Dr. Anton Mechanicles was like a kid in a candy store as he and Dr. Troniquez oversaw the gathering of all the alien technology leftover from the failed invasion. He would keep up appearances for his collegue and the rest of MEGTAF, but he had **plans** for this technology…plans that could finish what Van Hellscream had started! No one else knew, but they had grown up together as best friends and shared the same obsessive bigotry against monsters. That had been his reason for going to work for MEGTAF in the first place; to create the technology that would destroy all the monsters of the world!

xxXXxx

Darkness all around, pitch-black. The only light emanating from the large crystal ball at the center of an ornately carved wood and stone round table. From out of the gloom, sinister figures step up to the table from different directions; Lord Stoker, Revolta, Vlad Plasmius, Remus Darkclaw, Argost, Zombozo, and Moanica D'Kay. Finally, far above an empty space at the table, the burning red eyes of a mysterious kaiju were visible in the dark.

"My friends", the unknown kaiju rumbled from above, "our Council is now complete. Please welcome our final member; Sisko Basilisk!"

A slender, well-muscled reptilian in his late teens appeared in the final empty space at the table. His iridescent teal scales bore black diamond pattern markings down his back, arms, legs, and long tail. His long black hair was cut in a spiky mullet while his eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses and his evil smirk revealed his fangs.

"So are we now ready to begin putting our plans in motion?", Argost asked impatiently.

"Not quite", Revolta said.

"Aw, you used to be more **fun** , Revolta", Zombozo chuckled.

"This is no time to joke, Zombozo! Observe", she waved her hand over the crystal ball. An image appeared in the swirling smoke; a scene on a secluded beach occupied by Belloc and several other kaijus. "This happened several months ago, when one of your rogue kaijus had been captured."

The scene played out as it had at the time, then the image faded as Belloc executed the giant crustacean in a massive blast of fire.

"Belloc is no fool", Revolta reminded them. "That cretin of a seafood platter said too much with his defiant last words! If Belloc should deduce your identity too soon, it could ruin everything!"

"Calm youself, Revolta", the kaiju chuckled.

"You already have a plan, don't you?", Sisko smirked. "You already knew this had happened."

"When Krabbros failed to return, it was not hard to deduce why", the mystery giant rumbled. "You are right that Belloc is no fool; as fools do not remain King of the Kaijus for as long as he has. But he **_is_** arrogant enough to think that 'he who has fallen' and 'has risen again' will be one that he himself destroyed. To that end, I have the perfect proxy. **_UNDERGROWTH!"_**

The plant-kaiju ghost appeared, glowing ecto-plasm green. Decades earlier, he had over-run an entire human city with his plant-children, in defiance of Belloc's command. Belloc destroyed him utterly, but so great was his evil and power, that his twisted soul persisted in the ghost world; regaining strength until he was ready to return. When he first returned, he over-ran the town of Amity Park until he was defeated by Danny Phantom, the new King of Ghosts. Undergrowth now kneeled before the unknown kaiju.

"You summoned me, my Lord?"

"Make preparations to attack the town of New Salem shortly before Halloween", the shadowed figure commanded. "Zombozo, I believe your scarnival will be in the area several weeks earlier? Provide Undergrowth with any helpful information he may require?"

"Of course", the Klown grinned. He had his own plans for New Salem while his scarnival was there himself.

"And I believe you have family there who will help you, Undergrowth?", the giant dark figure chuckled.

"Yes indeed!", Undergrowth smirkingly hissed. "I'm sure my daughter Amanita will be **more** than happy to see and help her Daddy with something nasty after all this time!"

"Grim Creeper!", Revolta called. A four-foot tall, dark-brown, cyclopsean potato-looking creature lurched into view on his twisted, root-like limbs.

"Yes, Revolta?", he asked in the simpering voice of a life-long minion.

"Go with Undergrowth", she said, pointing at the ghostly plant-kaiju. "Help him in any way he requires and keep me apprised regularly!"

"As you command, Revolta", the little plant creature replied, shuffling over to Undergrowth.

"Is it my **abilities** you doubt, witch?", Undergrowth hissed, his eyes narrowed at Revolta. "Or my **loyalty**? Because my loyalty to my Lord is beyond reproach! Is **yours**?"

"Why you overgrown weed! I'll….!"

 _"_ _ **ENOUGH!**_ _"_ , the mystery kaiju roared, silencing them both. "I approve of sending the Grim Creeper to keep us all informed of your progress. Now GO!"

 ****To Be Continued!****

xxXXxx

 **Author's notes: Well, that's it for my very first fan-fiction and this first installment of my 'Primal Hearts' trilogy! I've had a lot of fun doing this. Thank you all for coming along for the ride! I have a few stories planned before I start the first sequel, so please be patient and enjoy my other works in the meantime. One of the first will be my new rated 'M' work chronicling the exile of Van Hellscream and his followers in my 'Monster Girl Encyclopedia' realm!**

 **How many of you would like to see me do an 'Ever After High' story eventually, continuing the adventures of the regular cast and my OC's?**

 **xxXXxx**


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